The Curing Kiss
by Snooosh
Summary: The title basically sums it up. It's about how to cure a demon who's fallen ill with a fever, but it also tries to explain why the demon got sick in the first place. It's not really that simple so it's not a oneshot. Pairing... take a wild guess. COMPLETE
1. Symptoms

Authors monologue:

Alright, there's a first time for everything, and this is mine for writing a fanfic.

It's anime based, since I haven't read the manga (I know, I'm a heretic - I did become converted later though), and the title basically tells what the fic's about. It's primarily inspired by the idea that CxR are already a couple (and, as seen in other fanfics, they've already been going at it between the sheets). This would completely undermine the entire significance of the disease curing kiss, and the fact that Rosette becomes practically terrified about having to give it to him, makes no sense since they've pretty much been through all the basics of bedroom gymnastics, and a kiss... well you get the picture. I've tried to keep it in an 'I'm writing what wasn't shown in the anime' way, which means that I'm partly incorporating and elaborating a bit on scenes from the episode, but mainly I'm writing scenes, which believably (I hope) could have taken place in between without disturbing the chronology of the episode. Furthermore I have no idea, how the gypsy speaks in the english dubbed anime, but I'm a fan of a few clichés and one of them is the stereotypical german 'crook english' accent (and zis eez how vee say goodbye in Germany... doktor Jones), so that's the way she talks here.

Anyway... enough about writing motivations etc. and on to the writing itself.

* * *

"Speech"

_Thoughts_ (Sometimes used to denote emphasis on spoken words)

**Transcendental voice** (For lack of a better word. Simply used to convey wordings from beings not of a physical world)

EXCLAMATION!

Of course these can all be combined in various ways like:

"YELL!" (Bet no one thought of that)

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Chrno Crusade related, so I'll need to make money some other way.

This is a slightly revised chapter 1, but nothing major has changed. I merely stumbled upon a few misspelled words that my spellchecker for some reason didn't feel like correcting, so I read through it again and made a few adjustments along the way.

* * *

The Curing Kiss

By Shnoosh

Chapter 1 – Symptoms

* * *

He was sick...

He had never been sick before, in fact he had never even heard of a demon ever getting sick. _Guess it's just my luck._

His whole body was weak, his mind was hazy, he felt sore for no reason, and he was hot, cold, sweating and shivering at the same time. He felt completely useless and pathetic, being able to do nothing but stare around in the room, which had been made available to him. It was much bigger than the one in the convent, with numerous paintings, depicting everything from portraits to landscapes, adorning the walls. Hell... even the walls themselves were a work of art with all the intricate carvings decorating the heavy wooden panels they were composed of. But apart from the bed, the nightstand and the single floor lamp in the corner, the room was unfurnished. It was definitely a few social classes higher, than what he was accustomed to, and apparently the rich could afford to waste space. He could see the afternoon sun through the large glass door leading to the balcony. Warm rays of light forced their way through the transparent barrier illuminating the room with a yellowish tint.

He winced.

Lying in what was probably the most luxurious bed he'd ever found himself in did very little to make him feel comfortable. He was weak, and he hated it. Every ounce of strength had been drained from him, and he was exhausted almost to the point of passing out. He didn't dare go to sleep though.

_No. Don't think about it. As long as I'm awake, it's jake. _He wasn't even aware of how stupid the rhyme sounded, until he'd actually finished the sentence in his head. _A regular demon poet, yeah that's me, _he thought sarcastically. He made an effort to continue his mental ranting, hoping that it would keep the sleep at bay.

_Damn!_ _Humans get sick all the time, how the hell do they deal with this? It's amazing, really - they risk this condition so many times during their lives, yet they still go about their business. Having a fever is just an ordinary obstacle to them. It must take an enormous amount of strength, to brush it aside like that. Aren't they scared at all?_ _The human body is so frail and yet when it comes to something like..._

His body began to shake slightly, as the fever climbed. His vision began to blur somewhat, and he became drowsy. _No __I'm NOT gonna do that, must stay awake, remain conscious._ His trembling was not caused solely by the fever. He was afraid. His mind was desperately searching for anything to occupy him.

Squeak... Squeak... Squeak...

_Creaking Floorboards? Footsteps!_

"Azmaria!"

It was a feeble attempt to yell, his voice was just too weak. _No, it wasn't loud enough, she probably didn't even hear me. _

The door opened. "Hi Chrno," Azmaria said cheerily.

"I heard you calling." She approached him. "So how are you feeling?" Putting her hand on his forehead, the girl kneeled beside the bed.

"Don't really know Azmaria, I feel... kinda weak." He was happy that she had come though. He didn't like being alone, it was nice to have someone to talk to.

"Hmm your fever is still high. But don't worry. Rosette and Satella are out buying some cold medicine so you can get better." She smiled. "In the meantime you should get some sleep, resting is important when you are recovering."

The knot in his stomach instantly tightened again, and the feeling of intestines about to be crushed didn't exactly ease his discomfort. _How can she say it so casually. Hell no! I'm gonna stay awake until Rosette and Satella comes back with the medicine, it will cure me of this fever, and all of this will be over. _Somehow convincing himself of his own voiced thoughts seemed to require too much effort, as if he was unable to muster the hope. He struggled to regain control over his feelings, trying to calm himself. He wasn't doing a very good job at hiding his emotions.

"What's wrong Chrno? Are you Ok? Is there something you need?" Deep concern was written all over the girl's face, she held his left hand in both of hers, looking at him with large eyes.

The simple fact that she was so concerned, comforted the demon, and he smiled wearily at the apostle kneeling next to him. Not wanting to worry her, he pushed the fear aside and tried to keep his voice from quavering. "Azmaria, is it really necessary to sleep in order to recover?"

Slightly puzzled at this question, Azmaria put on a curious face. "Well, I guess not. But you're not thinking of getting up to go search for Joshua now, are you? The way you are now you can't even walk on your own, and you might get hurt, if you tried to go out and look for him. I mean, what if some evil demon found you, and took advantage of you being sick and all." She gripped his hand tighter, scared by the prospect of her own words.

"No, that's not what I meant, it's just..." _Dammit how do you explain something like this._ He felt as if he was acting like a big baby. "Nevermind, it's nothing," he said giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. "And don't worry. I don't plan on going anywhere."

She relaxed, and returned to her former self. "Well anyway, your body will recover much faster, if you get some rest. But I can go make you some tea if you like." Her expression was asking, if there was anything at all, she could do for him.

"Nah. Don't Bother. It's Jake." Taking a deep breath, the demon decided to follow the girl's suggestion. _Azmaria probably knows what she's talking about anyway, she's been sick numerous times before - all humans have. Guess I'm no expert on this subject, if resting truly is an important part of recovery, then I will rest._ The dread of being left alone reemerged. He brushed it aside. _I'll just have to endure._

"I'll try to get some sleep instead, see if I can kick this thing"

Azmaria hadn't noticed the brief flicker of panic in Chrno's face and replied cheerfully. "OK. I'll go help Steiner with the chores around the mansion. There are so many and he's such an old man. He shouldn't be doing them all by himself."

_She really is a sweet girl. _The thought made him smile slightly.

The girl turned to leave. "Don't worry Chrno. You'll get better in no time," she said on her way out. "Do you want me to leave the door open?"

"Nah, just close it."

She shut the door behind her, leaving the sinner alone again.

"I truly hope that you're right about this Azmaria." The words rang hollow and meaningless in his mind.

_Shit. Pull yourself together. You were alone for over fifty years in a godforsaken tomb and now you're afraid of being alone for a single afternoon lying in a comfortable bed. Besides Rosette and Satella are probably already on their way with the medicine, so you have nothing to worry about. _His pep talk didn't really do much to ease his nerves, after all it wasn't being left alone in the bed which frightened him.

It was the dream.

_How the hell do I manage to stay so sane, when I'm awake? It makes absolutely no sense._ He stared into the ceiling trying to clear his thoughts, bracing himself for what was to come. A few minutes passed, and the drowsiness began to return, he yawned as he closed his eyes. He probably couldn't stay awake much longer, even if he tried.

_Alright, I'm ready._

He wasn't.

Slowly the darkness washed over him as the exhausted demon gave in to his weariness. He appeared to sleep peacefully.

X X X X X X X X X X X X

X X X X X X X X X X X X

"Hey! Rosette! Wait up!"

The golden haired girl had stormed out of the fortune teller's tent, and it was virtually impossible to keep up with her. _How can she run so fast in that outfit. She looks like a bum too, geez people must be thinking that she's stolen my purse the way __I'm chasing her._ It wasn't until Rosette stopped, that Satella finally caught up with her.

"What the... hell are you... doing? You rushed out of that tent like you'd seen a ghost!"

"Huh, me... oh. Well, you know. That old woman was really creeping me out, and the tent smelled really really bad, so I had to get some fresh air, and I thought that we didn't need any more from her, and besides she was probably just a fake who was after our money, and if we stayed there we'd probably get mugged, and I don't have my guns, so I figured..."

"SHUT UP!" This was becoming entirely too much for Satella.

"Right, sorry."

"So you really got what you came for?" The german woman asked inquisitively.

"Well, since she was a fake I don't really believe her. We should just get some ordinary cold medicine and go back."

"WHAT? After all this running around, you just wanna get regular cold medicine? We could have done that to begin with!" Satella's frustrations, from walking and driving back and forth all day, only increased when Rosette implied, that it had all been for nothing.

"Yeah, I know. But we didn't alright! Besides we've spent way too much time with this already."

"Well, that's most definitely not my fault. In fact, I told you to give it up a long time ago. But you just had to check every pharmacy, herbalist, and quack in all of San Francisco."

"Yeah yeah." Rosette couldn't really care less, she hadn't asked the Princess of Bickering to come along anyway.

Calling upon her last ounce of patience the jewel witch sighed. "Alright. Let's just find a pharmacy and be done with this." She began to walk. "You coming?"

"Well... I just remembered something that I need to do. You just go ahead and get the medicine. I'll meet you at the car." Without further explanation Rosette spun around and ran back the way they came from.

"Wait! Where're you..." Too late. _What on earth has gotten into that girl? Well I'm not chasing after her again that's for sure. _She began walking to the pharmacy. _Is she going back to the fortune teller?_

X X X X X X X X X X X X

X X X X X X X X X X X X

Two entities could be seen in the darkness. Without any particular shape or form they just appeared as two luminous existences. They were of different sizes.

The larger appeared powerful and somehow determined. It was blazing a brilliant blue color. The light was radiating outwards with tremendous force.

The smaller didn't appear quite as strong, it was however shining with a zealous intensity. The color wasn't really distinguishable, at certain times it could resemble the blue color of the larger, but it would quickly be replaced by another color resembling peach. The two colors seemed to swirl around erratically making the entity apear to be in a state of chromatic indecision.

The larger being was engulfing the smaller one. It would seem, that it was either forcefully overwhelming it, or perhaps protecting it from something.

**YIELD**

It wasn't a voice, but if it had been, it would have been terrifying. It seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere, and it shook the emptiness with an unimaginable might. The beings showed no signs of being affected by it. Then it blasted forth again, like a gigantic growl with all the rage of an unstoppable beast.

**YIELD - OR DIE**

If it was even remotely possible, the emptiness would have been shattered by the sheer power and fury of this second command. The entities still didn't waver. Both were burning as brightly as they had been until now. It was almost as if they had increased their luminance defiantly, but whether they did so in response to this 'voice' was impossible to tell. The source of these inaudible wordings remained undisclosed as well. Perhaps they were created by the entities themselves. Perhaps they came from something else...

_**Two down**_

_**The third is soon done**_

_**Then there will only be one left**_

X X X X X X X X X X X X

X X X X X X X X X X X X

The smell of incense hang thick in the air.

The crackling and snapping sounds of slowly burning wood could be heard.

The furnishing inside was spartan consisting of a simple table accompanied by two chairs and, standing next to the small fire, a crude shelving unit, which buckled slightly under the weight of all the items filling it. There were some mundane objects on it, but mainly occult talismans and artifacts littered the makeshift piece of storage furniture. Indeed, this was not the belongings of just any regular person. The light from the flames caused shadows to dance on the inner walls of the tent, though not in an ominous way. It resembled the coziness of a wayside inn if anything.

"Ahhhh. Eet eez you again childe." The fortune teller sat behind her bowl of liquid. "Come in. Vee did not finish our talk from before."

Rosette entered hesitantly, still slightly unnerved. There was something about this old lady that didn't quite meet the eye. "Well, I just came back to hear more about the spell. I didn't really understand what you said, about him having to surrender his heart and soul and all that. I thought you were gonna cast some kind of spell, and I panicked. I thought that you could reach him through me, and I ran out believing you wouldn't be able to if I got away." That explanation was just about the dumbest she had even heard herself, and the fact that it was the truth didn't make it any better. "I'm sorry."

The old woman looked at the teen with an indulgent expression. "I knew, you vould not understand. Just az I knew you vould run avay and come back alone. Vell, in fact I simply said vhat you needed to hear, in order to run avay, and come back vizout ze ozer voman. Eet eez because vhat I have to say, eez for you alone, and I did not vant to be rude and ask ze ozer von to get out."

"WHAT? How? Why?" Rosette exclaimed wide-eyed.

"Now, now, do not be angry young childe." The gypsy was speaking ever so slowly and calming. "I merely foresaw zat if I had told ze ozer voman to leave, you vould have asked me vhy she could not stay. Since zere really vas no answer I could give, vhich vould satisfy you, you vould get mad at me, and zen you vould become suspicious of me. You vould have left vit her, because you vould feel, zat you could not trust me. You vould not have returned, and you vould not hear, vhat I have to say to you."

The young nun gaped in astonishment. _She's right... At least... I think she's right._ "But how did you know all of this?"

"Vell, do you not believe zat I can perceive ze future?" The old woman sounded almost hurt. "I am a fortune teller, young childe. Zat eez vhy you came in ze first place, eez eet not?"

Rosette shook her head in utter bewilderment. She honestly didn't know how to react, but she still felt she needed to hear what the old woman had to say. "Yeah, I'm sorry. I do believe that." _I certainly do now. _She approached the table, and sat down on the chair.

"First to get rid of zis. Eet veel be of no use to uz." She picked up her scrying bowl and placed it on one of the shelves. "Do you vant somezing to drink? I have hot vater on ze kettle. I can make you a cup of tea."

"No thanks, I'm fine."

The gypsy eyed her shortly. "I veel make you von anyvay. Zere are many zings for you to understand, and eet veel take a little vhile." She went and picked up the kettle from the small fire along with a jar standing next to it. "Besides." Her words had a matter-of-factly ring to them. "Eet eez a very good tea. You veel like eet." She grabbed a large handleless cup from the top shelf, opened the jar and pulled out three small cloth sacks from it. "Tell me. Zis demon. Eez he a good friend of yours?"

Rosette smiled and nodded even though the woman wasn't looking. "Yes. Yes, he is."

"Zat eez very rare." She had opened the three sacks taking a select amount of herbs from each sack and putting it into the cup. "Demons do not usually make friends, you know."

Rosette studied the brewing, not really knowing why she had become so patient, when she was in such a hurry before. One sack held small twigs about an inch long with green sprouts on. The second had jagged leaves in it, and the third held petals from some kind of flower. _They look like rose petals, except they're blue_.

The old woman turned her head and gave Rosette a warm smile. "He must be very special."

The teen blushed slightly. "Yes, that too."

The gypsy started to pour the water into the cup. "I vould like to know childe. Zis demon. Can he dream? Eez he able to love?"

That was... unexpected. "Huh?"

She dragged out her response a bit. "Uhhm... yes. Yes he can." Chrno had shared his dreams with her from time to time, and even though it might seem like a simple thing, she really liked the feeling of intimacy, it gave her. It was a bit like him telling stories. As for love... "Both of them." He definitely cared for her, a lot even, she knew that, and that thought never failed to bring a little smile to her lips. But she also knew, that he didn't spend all those years in a tomb out of a fear of sunlight. Thinking about that made her both sad for him and slightly jealous, even though it all happened a long time ago. She had once thought about, if he would ever do the same for her. A part of her almost wished, that he would be inclined to, albeit a very small part. "Why?"

"I zought az much. I vas just making sure." Obviously the reply was meant to brush the question aside for now. "You know childe." She stirred the tea with a spoon. "A demon vit ze ability to love and dream, eez very remarkable. Most, if not all, have forgotten zat a long time ago. You are very lucky to have such a demon az a friend."

_Well, quite a bit more than a friend really..._

The nun felt heat rise to her cheeks, blushing a little more when she thought about Chrno, and their time away from prying eyes. Especially the times when they were alone in the dark, although night really wasn't a requirement. _I hope he gets better soon._ She smiled to herself at the somewhat selfish thought. _And Chrno's the one they call 'sinner'._

But of course that wasn't the real reason. She loved him. More than she had thought possible, and she couldn't bear to see him like this. She had never actually seen him sick before.

_Never seen him this... helpless..._

She knew he had probably lived more than ten times as long as her. But in his weakened state he almost appeared like a child to her. The child portrayed so deceptively by his small form. She hadn't previously realized, how much she actually depended on him. Needed him. She feared she would shatter like glass, if he wasn't there to lend her his strength. If there was even a remote way, she could ease whatever illness he had, she would do it.

_Even if I'll have to challenge God himself._

"Childe?"

"What? Oh yes... sorry. Yeah, I guess I am quite lucky." The response was a bit hurried and carried a trace of her embarrassment for drifting off. She really needed to stop doing that. Her eyes turned to ther old woman, who smiled knowingly.

"Eet eez good you feel zat vay about him. Ahh, ze tea eez ready now." The gypsy took a pair of wooden tongs to fish out the herbs from the cup throwing them in a waste basket. With the cup in hand she approached the table. "Here you go childe. Eet eez made especially for you, I am sure you veel like eet. And ze cup eez also von of my best, eet veel hold ze tea nice and varm for a long time." She put it down in front of Rosette.

"Thanks." The tea did smell wonderful, though she couldn't quite place the flavor. The best word would probably be herbal.

"Try eet, young von." the fortune teller said as she sat down. "Eet veel ease your nerves."

Rosette did actually feel a bit tense, now that she thought about it. She took the cup in both hands, and brought it to her mouth, drinking a small sip.

_Wow._

She hadn't thought that a mere tea could taste this good. And not only was the taste great, but the heat from the liquid made her calmer, and the aroma seemed to clear her mind making her more attentive. She put it down again and looked at the woman in front of her, both hands still firmly on the cup.

"See... I told you eet vas good." The fortune teller leaned a bit forward as if to ensure she had the nun's full attention. "Now childe I veel tell you vhat you need to know." She folded her hands. "Ze first zing eez zat a demon body eez very strong. Eet eez so strong zat eet _never_ gets sick."

Rosette gripped the cup a bit tighter.

* * *

Ok that's it for the first chapter, I know it leaves a lot of unanswered questions, and it's probably only safe to say, that whatever's wrong with the bed-ridden demon, it's not your average flu. Anyway, hope you liked it, and whether you did or not, I'd be happy if you leave a review telling me what you think.


	2. Condition

Author's Blabber:

Hi again everybody. Here's the second chapter of my little fic (Damn this took me much longer to get out than I had hoped for), and it will answer some of the questions from the first one. I hope you guys like longer chapters 'cause it's twice as long as the first one. By the way for those interested I left a small piece of symbolism in the first chapter (dunno if anybody noticed or even cares). It has to do with the tea brewing, and if you just combine Rosette's thoughts when she studies the brewing and the gypsy's words when she hands it over it should be fairly obvious (I hope).

The 'already had sex' problem brought up by lordmaquareion is indeed very valid, and I feel I need to address it somehow. I became inspired to do this story by reading another fanfic called 'Eternal Regrets, Lost Desires' by the author Lechan, which can be found on AFF. That story takes place somewhere around the Christmas episode, and as such it fits into the anime without disturbing the timeline. I liked that the story was written so it could actually be considered a part of the anime, but it struck me that such a turn of events would utterly destroy the whole idea of the disease curing kiss, and thus I decided to try and revise the latter. If you will that story can conceivably be perceived as a 'prequel' to this one, and for those who haven't read it (and are old enough to read it heh...) I recommend it as it is excellently written and funny as well.

And thanks a million for the reviews so far, it really does make it worthwhile.

* * *

I'm using a couple of different 'scene changers' now.

X X X X X X X X X X X X

X X X X X X X X X X X X

This denotes a change in actual place/time. A perspective change without a 'scene' change does not usually warrant this.

x x x x x x x x x x x x

A purely imaginary change in place/time such as a person having a longer flashback or falling asleep and starting to dream, the actual time and place is unchanged. A double line of x'es will be going from the 'real' world into a dream or vice versa, a single line will denote going between different states in the same dream, hope this makes sense.

"Speech"

_Thought_

**Transcendental Voice**

EXCLAMATION!

Let's see which combination to pick... how about:

_**Transcendental thought **_(Heh that does sound cool though)

Disclaimer: Who said I claimed anything in the first place... Well I didn't.

This is also a slightly revised chapter 2, but as with the first chapter no changes have been made which requires you to read it again, unless of course you think it's so good that you want to :-)

* * *

The Curing Kiss

By Shnoosh

Chapter 2 - Condition

* * *

He was all alone. Eyes closed tightly. Curled into a ball. Wings wrapped protectively around himself. Floating in nothing.

He was trying to shut out the darkness.

_Damn this... dream... _he thought, and was immediately wracked with burning pain, originating from the numerous black spots on his dream body. He hated when it happened. If his mind wandered off, if he was deliberately unaware of the present, he could deal with it. It merely resembled physical pain after all. Whenever he accidentally gathered his consciousness, he also became aware of the feeling of being incinerated alive. His thoughts needed to drift to avoid it, to escape the here and now. So he let it wander back in time. Back to when the dream began occurring to him.

It was before the train ride.

He had taken so little notice of it.

Back then it was just a strange dream after all.

x x x x x x x x x x x x

Everything was black.

Except himself.

_Am I glowing?_

He pondered this as there was no source of light anywhere illuminating him.

_No, I'm just... visible._

He tried moving his feet.

_There's no ground._

_Am I flying?_

_Falling?_

_Standing?_

It didn't really make a difference either way. He was simply... there... He could move freely, but he had no sense of direction.

_Am I moving or... stationary?_

He realized that this held no meaning whatsoever, he had no way of knowing. There was nothing to indicate where he was or where he was going. Everywhere was simply... dark.

"Rosette?" He asked cautiosly into the void. His voice sounded muted. He really didn't expect an answer though, this 'world' was anything but ordinary.

_What is this kind of place._

The darkness wasn't much help in answereing this question. A thought occured to him. It was hard to say if this would give any clues to his whereabouts, but he might as well try something.

He pulled out a hair holding it before him, it appeared to be floating in mid-nothing. _Doesn't seem to hang in any direction, wonder if it'll just stay in front of me if I let it go._

He released it.

It vanished instantly, swallowed by the darkness.

_WHAT THE...? Where did it go? _His hands grabbed at nothing in search of the small hair, which had disappeared entirely. But thoughts of the lost hair were quickly replaced. By moving his arms he had become aware of something...

Something which was unsetteling...

Something which was missing...

The familiar sensations of air brushing past skin was simply not present.

_Is there no air? Am I even breathing?_

A nameless fear began to seep slowly into him. Right now his body appeared to breathe, but he couldn't shake the feeling that it was only because he was actively making it, and it would stop again the second he wasn't consciously thinking about it.

He eyes started to dart around searching frantically for any sign of anything other than darkness. He looked up, down, left, right. _As if I even know which way is which,_ he thought angrily.

His heart began beating faster as the fear continously rose within him. _Where the HELL am I? What is this darkness?_

He tried to run. _It can't go on forvever, I can get out of here._

His heart quickened its pace along with the running movements of his body.

_There's gotta be a way out. If I keep going this direction, I'll come to some kind of wall. Then I'll find the door._

His movements sped up becoming increasingly desperate. The darkness seemed to go on forever.

Or maybe it only reached three feet ahead of him.

He didn't know.He couldn't know.

_This is a dream._

He just had to get out.

_It has to be a dream._

The knot of desperation tightened.

_This is such a god damn cliché._

Anger rose.

_I'm dreaming. _

Teeth clenched.

_I'm trying to run. _

Eyes flared.

_And I don't even know where I'm going._

Movements began to slow down, as the frustrated anger was replaced by something else.

_I don't even know what I'm running away from._

He came to a halt.

_I don't even know if I've moved away from where I started._

His muscles relaxed.

_I don't even know if I CAN get out. _

He looked 'down' in despair.

_I'm just... alone._

He closed his eyes, clenched his fist and threw his head backwards.

"ROSEEEEEETTE!"

The demon was using the full capacity of his voice, in an attempt to pierce through the smothering blackness. Hoping that she somehow heard him, that he would get a response. _Anything. Please... just anything._

Nothing.

Not even an echo returned, as if his very words were swallowed by the darkness too.

"AZMARIA!"

"REMINGTON!"

"ELDER!"

"GODDAMN, SOMEONE ANSWER ME!"

He looked towards his chest again.

"Magdalene..."

The last word was barely more than a whisper.

The demon slumped. Giving up. Arms and wings dropping low.

_WINGS?_

He couldn't believe it. He hadn't realized until now that he was in his full form. Another fear instantly rushed through him, one that he knew all too well.

_NO! I have to change shape. Can't take her life like this._ He immediately tried to decrease his usage of astral, but his body wouldn't respond._ What the hell is WRONG with me!_ He gripped his head in frustration, and his face froze in shock.

_Horns?_

Letting his hands slide around the side of his head he could feel his horns were en place, and they were intact. _Why are they here now? They were ripped off so long ago._

He again looked around at the engulfing nothingness.

_And if I'm really dreaming, how can I think so clearly? How can I be so aware? As if... I'm not dreaming at all._

He turned his gaze down towards his hands.

_But If I'm not dreaming, where am I then? And why is everything so dark and silent. It's just like a... _An overpowering sadness immediately welled up inside him. It was the only explanation he could think of. His expression went completely blank.

_No... this... can't... How...?_

He was at a complete loss as to why this had happened to him, but in a horrible way it made perfect sense.

The sinner lost all strength in his muscles. Somehow he managed to drop to his knees.

_I'm sorry..._

His vision clouded.

_I'm sorry Rosette. I'm sorry I couldn't help you find Joshua. I'm sorry I had to leave you. I'm sorry I had to die. I'm sorry..._

Tears filled his eyes.

_But I'm glad you will live. I hope you won't cry because I'm gone. I'm just a demon anyway. I hope you'll find... Joshua. _That last thought had to be rephrased, but the original meaning was still evident. It hurt.

It hurt a lot.

_I hope you'll be happy..._

He kept staring at his legs not wanting to look into the darkness. Salty water ran along his face, but never fell down, never left his cheeks. The droplets were just being sucked into the endless void, like everything else.

Chrno stayed in that position seemingly forever, crying silently, smiling vaguely. His sole comfort was the fact, that he would not be stealing any more of his precious contractors life.

_At least... she will live..._

x x x x x x x x x x x x

That morning when he opened his eyes, and saw the familiar walls and ceiling of his small room in the convent, he just stared in disbelief.

_I'm alive? It WAS a dream after all!_ He jumped out of bed, taking in the feel of the blankets on the way out. He could smell breakfast! He could hear voices! He could see... THINGS!

The door opened and a fairly surly teenage nun entered, she certainly wasn't known for having an agreeable mood in the morning. "Alright, sleepy-head. It's time to get up. You usually don't sleep late, don't think to make a habit of iiIIIIIEEEEEE..."

Chrno had grabbed her around the waist, swinging her around laughing.

"What the hell are you doing you loony? PUT ME DOWN! I'm getting dizzy!" Arms and legs flailed wildly to no avail.

He put her down, held her for a moment, released her, and got dressed. It all took about five seconds. "Sorry 'bout that Rosette! It's just... such a wonderful morning." Crimson eyes were beaming.

"What are you talking about, it's cold, it's grey, and it's raining." Rosette said with a frown.

Chrno was already on the move. "I know! Isn't it GREAT?" He darted out in the hallway. "Let's go eat."

The sister was whirled around helplessly when the demon ran past her. To prevent her impending rendezvous with the floor, she grabbed at the first thing vithin reach, it happened to be the metal frame of the bed. _What the hell's up with him... _She decided that she didn't have time to recover fully, and quickly leapt out the door in an attempt to catch him. Her partner was already way ahead of her. He spun around himself, did a backflip and a reverse somersault, startling a couple of nuns on his way. "WAIT, AREN'T YOU EVEN GONNA GET A SHOWER?"

"I'LL GET TO IT! I'M STARVING!"

"But you're never..." _You don't even need to eat. _Rosette just stood there, staring at the red mini tornado disappearing down the hall. She almost never saw him this happy. And for no apparent reason at all. Well, these last couple of days had been... special... but for Chrno to act like this all of a sudden... She looked through the window at the gloomy weather outside and a slight smile formed on her lips. _Today's gonna be a good day. And soon we're leaving, to go look for Joshua. Everything's gonna be just jake._ She truly felt that way, as she started to walk down the hall. _I better go knock some sense into him, before sister Kate starts to suspect him of being possessed and decides to lock him up._

x x x x x x x x x x x x

_First... of many... _

Blistering pain immediately brought him back from the memory. He curled up tighter, protecting himself. He willed his mind to leave the present once again, to make him escape the burning spots which were now covering his dream body.

X X X X X X X X X X X X

X X X X X X X X X X X X

_What can possibly be taking her this long. It's been hours since she ran off. Well, if she doesn't show up within the next ten minutes, I'm leaving. She can handle herself, and walk back to the house for all I care. _It was dark already and Satella had been waiting far longer than she would normally tolerate. The chill of the night had begun to set in, and the lack of heating and isolation in the car made her cold and extremely cranky. _Blast it! Why does this stupid thing have to be so damn cold. And it isn't excactly cheap either, how hard can it be to put some kind of heating in it._ She hugged herself and rubbed her arms in an attempt to keep warm. She couldn't see very far, but in the distance she noticed something down the road. Something, which mostly looked like a bag with feet and hair, was moving swiftly and purposefully towards the car. _Is that her? _She stepped out of the car trying to see more clearly who the person was.

"ROSETTE!" She yelled, when the figure became recognizable.

Exhausted from running all the way back Rosette took a minute, leaning on the car when she reached it, to catch her breath. "Satella, I..." She tried speaking, but was still too short of breath.

The jewel summoner just stared at her with a curious face. "Yes?"

"Uhhh nothing... Anyway, thanks for waiting, let's go back to the house." Rosette headed for the passenger seat in the car, opened the door, and got in.

Satella's expression quickly went from dumbfounded to irritated. "Hey wait up little missy." She got in as well. "Listen, it was YOU who dragged me out on this 'shopping trip'. You can't just run off to god knows where, staying away for over two hours, and then expect to come back without any explanation whatsoever. I feel like I've been waiting forever, sitting in this goddamn car, for crying out loud!"

"Aaaaww..." Rosette made an almost mockingly cheerful expression, she couldn't help feeling a bit gleeful, that she had made the redhead wait so long. "You don't need to worry about me, I can take care of myself you know."

"Shut up, will ya! I wasn't worried about you. Just bored, that's all." With a mischievous grin she continued. "The only thing I was worried about, would be hearing about a building block having collapsed, because of a bum-clad girl."

"HEY!" Rosettes face shot towards Satella's Teeth bared and fists clenched. "Watch it or I'll rearrange your face!"

"My, my... Aren't we jumpy." Satella giggled as she started the car. Nothing cheered her up quite so much as pestering the young sister, she was such an easy target. "So what took you so long?"

Rosette sat down in her seat again. "Well I'm not really familiar with this city, so I got lost on my way back," she lied waspishly.

"For two hours?" Satella pulled the car out and drove down the road.

"Well... I don't even think that the car was parked in that spot before. You probably drove it and forgot to move it back. Or rather, you did it on purpose just too keep me looking for the car, probably enjoying the fact that I was running around looking for it."

The german woman laughed. "That's what you think? I moved it? For my own amusement?" She looked triumphantly at an obviously irritated Rosette. "Tell me. Is that your explanation for everything? Saying that it's _not_ your fault? Is that what Chrno's for? Taking the blame for you, when you screw up on a mission?"

"THAT'S IT!" Rosette lunged at Satella pinning her head to the window with her left elbow, her right hand posed to strike. _I'm gonna claw her rotten eyes out! _"Don't you EVER say that! Take that BACK! NOW!" Tears began pressing forth. _Chrno... Please... hang in there..._

"AWIGHK! I'm thowy. I kak ik gak. Dek me GO! WE' GONGA 'IK THAK!" Satella managed to say being hopelessly trapped between the glas and Rosette's elbow bone.

"What?" Rosette didn't understand a word of it, but she looked out the front window after hearing the sound of a horn and noticing a light shining on her.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Finally the squabblers agreed upon something.

They were headed for a head-on collision with a streetcar.

Both of them grabbed the wheel, pulling in opposite directions.

"LEFT!"

"NO, RIGHT!"

"LET GO!"

"YOU LET GO!"

The car swayed, driving on two wheels, narrowly dodging the oncoming metal juggernaut which stampeded noisily past them.

"CAAAR!"

"SHUT UP!"

A car going in their own previous direction just barely evaded them, as they were now driving transverse to the street.

"WATCH OUT!"

"TURN!"

"SHUT UP!"

"YOU SHUT UP!"

The car turned left grazing the buildings. People who had been peacefully taking evening strolls or looking at the shop windows, were now frantically jumping left and right, dodging the rampaging vehicle. The car drove out on the road again.

"TURN, DAMMIT!"

"I KNOW!"

Still balancing on two wheels the car turned right again, suddenly dropping down to all four, driving neatly on the right side of the road in their original direction.

Both girls were staring in disbelief out the front window. Four hands, with knuckles paler than white, were tightly gripping the wheel. Satella sat, arms completely stretched, pressed back in her seat, Rosette was in a horizontal position leaning over Satella's arms. Their faces were almost nothing but eyes.

The gold haired teen returned to her seat. Satella glared at her grimly.

"What the HELL were you THINKING? No wonder you keep breaking stuff, if that's how far your think ahead, before you act!" Her jaw was aching.

Rosette looked down at her clenched fists, holding back the urge to go at her again. "Just... Shut up and drive!"

Satella eyed the exorcist shortly. Something was obviously making her extremely edgy. "Alright then. I take it back. Ok?"

"Hmphh..." Rosette managed.

Neither of the young women said anything. Only the sputtering of the engine, and the grinding sound of tires on the road, made sure that time didn't pass in complete silence. Rosette sat looking out the window, her expression had quickly changed to one of concern, as if she had already forgotten everything about Satella and the near car crash. Something much more important was on her mind.

"So why did you run away?" Satella asked, after a while.

"Huh..." Rosette was far away in her thoughts.

"When you ran off. Where did you go?"

"I uhm... I went... " The younger woman wasn't much for conversation right now.

"You went back to the gypsy right?"

"Yeah... I did."

"Why? You said you thought she was a fake."

"Well... I just wanted to make sure... I mean just in case she wasn't a fake." _Dammit, does she have to pry? Just leave me alone already_. "I mean what if I got some of the spell wrong, and I accidentally made things worse or something." _As if they could be any worse._ Rosette fought to keep her composure, to not let herself break down and cry. She quickly turned to look back out the window.

"Hmmm... Ok." Satella noticed how Rosette was purposefully avoiding her gaze. She didn't believe for a second that she had heard even the least bit of what this was all about. But obviously this was something the young nun wouldn't talk about, so she left it at that. "I got the cold medicine by the way."

X X X X X X X X X X X X

X X X X X X X X X X X X

The two shining entities were radiating as bright as ever.

The larger were now enveloping even more of the smaller one. It was seemingly working to cover it completely.

The nothingness trembled to it's core once again.

**WHY WILL YOU NOT YIELD**

It wasn't a command this time. It wasn't a question either. More an expression of disbelief at something completely incomprehensible.

_**That's the third**_

_**Only one is left**_

_**You will die if you will not yield**_

X X X X X X X X X X X X

X X X X X X X X X X X X

The curled up figure, was completely silent. As silent as the surronding void. He was trembling slightly in response to the fiery pain covering his body.

_This must... what it's like... showered... burning coals..._

Chrno gritted his teeth, as the blistering sensation threatened to consume him. Just the act of forming the thought in his head made the suffering nearly unbearable. It was so much better to let his consciousness scatter, letting him become blind to the pain.

He felt so utterly alone, crouching with his face buried in his hands, and his legs as close to his chest, as they would go. His wings were still wound tightly around him. He was desperately trying to hide himself from the emptiness he floated in.

The demon broke into spasms, as the white-hot burning shot through him again. He tensed every muscle he could still control, fighting to stay in his fetal position. He tried to make his mind wander, to a time he wasn't alone in this darkness.

Before the pain.

Before the spots.

x x x x x x x x x x x x

He was having the dream again, well in fact it was all he ever dreamt anymore. He looked around although he didn't expect to see anything. It was always the same, always the darkness, and the solitude. He wasn't scared that he was dead anymore. He'd woken up every time. But he wasn't as happy waking up as the first time obviously. He'd used the time alone in the dark to think, to meditate. But he was slowly becoming uneasy that he would never dream anything else. He really missed dreaming, he wanted to be able to tell Rosette about a strange, a wonderful, or even a frightening dream he'd had.

_Am I never gonna be able to do that anymore? Is this darkness all which is left for me when I sleep?_

Closing his eyes he tried to recall some of his past dreams. Dreams he almost never expected to have anymore. He couldn't think of any.

He suddenly felt a presence nearby as if someone was watching him.

His eyes jerked open at the prospect of not being alone anymore. He instinctively looked to his right and his eyes widened in an instant.

A young woman of exquisite beauty stood looking at him. Her long blond hair cascaded down around her slender figure. Her pale skin was smooth and flawless. Her face was so delicate it threatened to shatter by a mere touch. Her eyes were longing for a life, she knew she could never have, and yet they still appeared thankful and filled with love... love meant for him. A peach-orange shawl was wrapped around the back of her exposed, sylphlike shoulders. She wore a simple white dress. A string was tied through the fabric of the dress around her chest and arms. It looked as if the whole thing would fall off if that string was loosened. _Held together by a single string. As fragile as herself. _He marveled at the woman in front of him. _Just as beautiful as I remember. _Chrno picked up his jaw again, still trying to recover from the astonishment. He cleared his throat.

"What are you doing here, Magdalene?" His voice sounded so strange in this place. Chrno felt a bit dumb, but maybe she had answers for him.

No response.

Mary Magdalene was simply staring at him.

"Magdalene?" He tried to walk to her. Then he suddenly realized that he still had no idea how. The demon started to make walking movements. But all he managed to do was to move his arms and legs. _Of course. There's still no ground. Can I Swim? Fly_ He flapped his wings, in an effort to propel himself forward. It didn't work either. He tried moving faster and faster, desperately willing himself over to where Magdalene was. _This is ridiculous. I must look like a complete idiot. _None of it did any good however, he was hopelessly bound to the same spot. _She's only ten feet away, and I can't reach her. Why... can't... I... MOVE?_

The demon finally gave up.The woman 'stood' completely still, she never made a single gesture, or changed her expression. Only her hair and dress moved, they seemed to be dancing in a wind which wasn't there.

"Magdalene, please... why are you here?"

She just gazed.

_Has she come to take me with her? _It was almost as if he wanted her to. He had missed her for over fifty years. _No. I can't. I won't. I've got a promise to keep._

He suddenly became aware of another figure out of the corner of his eye.

Turning his head to the left he was met by two pools of brilliant azure looking back at him. Hair spilled out like a honey colored fountain and flowed down around a face which was alluring and innocent at the same time. Her skin looked so soft he could almost feel it. Eyes were shining intensively, lighting up the darkness around her, they beamed passionately with life and hope. She wore her militia clothes which fit snugly around her shapely body. The imaginary wind was making the golden hair caress her face gently, and her clothing fly, revealing thighs and stockings. _Shit, whoever designed those clothes for nuns anyway? Probably Elder._ He wasn't planning on complaining to the manufacturer though. _Dammit Chrno. Pull yourself together, will ya. _He then noticed the clock around her neck. It was slowly ticking, the seal firmly in place. He relaxed a bit.

"Rosette?" He asked a bit hesitantly not really expecting an answer.

He didn't get one either.

He turned to look at Magdalene. She stood as motionless as ever. Eyes firmly fixed on him. Turning around to Rosette again. She hadn't moved either. Completely mystified he turned his head again to Magdalene. Then back to Rosette. To Magdalene, Rosette, back, and forth, back, forth, back, forth backforthbackforthbackforth...

"Aaaarrgh!"

He stopped his head from moving by holding it firmly in his hands, afraid that it might fall off. _I'm starting to go completely nuts, this is almost worse than all the time in the tomb. Back then I could still dream._ He calmed himself again. _But they appear so alive. They're even breathing._ Looking closely he noticed something he hadn't seen before. _And blinking._ _I just can't seem to reach either of them, not to mention that they're just standing there. Maybe if I can figure out a way to communicate with them..._

It was a foolish attempt doomed to fail, but Chrno still tried every way possible to get a response from either of them: Talking, shouting, telepathy, sign language...

He also tried moving again, both with body and by force of will. But nothing worked. The two young women simply stayed where they were, just out of reach, looking at him.

Finally he gave up. He ended up doing what he typically did in this dream. He waited for his body to wake up. _This time at least I have __something beautiful to look at._ He looked at the women flanking him on either side. His gaze kept alternating between them. He was taking in their entire beings with his eyes, letting the memories of them flow through him, as he waited for the dream to end yet another time.

x x x x x x x x x x x x

_Almost seems... like... dream now..._

Jerking back the demon immediately understood his mistake, as the feeling of being branded all over his body with red-hot iron sliced through him. Tensing his muscles, he summoned the will to make his body curl into the protective ball he had been in ever since...

Ever since the spots appeared.

X X X X X X X X X X X X

X X X X X X X X X X X X

"I'm home." Rosette had just entered the extravagant residence announcing she was back.

Azmaria let out a tiny laugh. She was happy Rosette and Satella had returned. With Chrno sick, the only person around the huge mansion to talk to was Steiner, and even though he was a nice old man, the girl couldn't help getting a little bored. She ran to the magdalene sister. "Welcome home."

"How's Chrno doing?" The teen obviously wasn't in the same cheery mood as her younger friend.

"He's asleep right now."

"I see."Rosette's expression was blank. _So he's not doing any better..._

"So, did you find some medicine?" Azmaria was eager to hear about their endeavour to the city. Nothing exciting had happened all day.

"It was such a hassle." Satella intervened, needing to air her frustrations about the whole affair. "She dragged me all over the place. She even took me to some dubious fortune teller. I'm so beat."

Rosette eyed the jewel witch with an I-couldn't-care-less expression. _Yeah, right. I'm sure you had a horrible time, you whining drama queen._

"And we ended up buying just normal cold medicine."Satella handed the small bag of medicine to Azmaria.

"Fortune..." Azmaria quickly shifted her attention away from the bag. "Rosette, what kind of fortune did she tell you?"

Rosette had completely forgotten that she'd been given a fortune telling, not that she was told anything. _It doesn't matter what it was anyway. Not compared to..._

"She told her a spell to lower the fever." Satella answered the question for Rosette, when she walked past them. She already knew that the nun didn't want to talk about it, and responded for her.

"Spell?" This was getting more interesting by the second, and Azmaria wanted to hear it all.

Were she taught some demonic ritual?

Did they need some kind of arcane tools for it?

Could she be a part of it?

_...and if she's wrong, then the medicine might work, and Chrno will get better easily. But what if she's right... And it doesn't work... Oh, I hope she's not right._ Rosette suddenly became aware of the real world again. _Dammit you can't just stand here spacing out._ "Well..." _I need to get away from her, can't talk about this, think fast. _"Oh yeah, I need to prepare dinner!" Quickly she darted past the girl escaping the questions.

"Oh?" Azmaria was somewhat perplexed at Rosette's sudden eagerness to cook.

Rosette was frantically rushing for the kitchen, when she realized she almost couldn't stand on her own two legs. Her body felt as if it had been working for several days without sleep. _Whoa, I'm really tired... Can't keep... my balance..._

"Uh..." Rosette let out a series of small incomprehensible sounds. She was staggering as if she'd had way too much to drink.

_I'm getting really... dizzy... falling..._

x x x x x x x x x x x x

x x x x x x x x x x x x

"What do you mean, a demon can't get sick? He has a fever, that means he's sick right?" Rosette thought the old gypsy was playing her for a fool, and she didn't like it one bit.

"You presume too much, childe." The woman answered. "A fever eez merely a symptom. And eet eez correct, zat for humans eet eez a symptom zat ze body eez sick. Eet eez a defense vhich helps ze body fight ze sickness" She lowered the tone in her voice. "But for a demon, eet eez somezing else. Eet eez a symptom zat his soul eez in peril"

"His... soul...?"

"Yes. You might even say zat eet eez under attack." The gypsy's voice was becoming serious.

"But how? Why's it being attacked? Who's doing this? Where're they coming from?" Rosette let out a stream of questions not giving the fortune teller the chance to answer either of them. She suddenly stood up seemingly about to leave. "I swear, I'm gonna make them pay for doing this whoever they are."

The gypsy caught Rosette's arm before she had the chance to run out. "Vhere do you zink you are going? Do you intend to run back vizout knowing vhat eez attacking him? Vhat do you intend to do, if you go to him now?"

"Uhhh... Well..." She hadn't really thought further than tearing the mansion apart, expecting to find some kind of demon she could beat into a pulp.

"Zat eez vhat I mean. You cannot expect to fight, vhen you do not know vhat you are fighting against. Now sit down... and listen."

x x x x x x x x x x x x

x x x x x x x x x x x x

She awoke in a bed, feeling awful. Her fever had hit her almost instantaneously, and now she was just lying there too weak to do anything.

"Sheesh." Satella's voice displayed a nonchalant resignation, indicating how utterly incompetent everyone around her were. "You sure shock me. You're not supposed to get sick."

"Sorry." Rosette said with mild sarcasm. _It won't happen again your highness..._

THWAK!

The fist struck the sick girl square on the cheek, catching her completely off guard.

Satella was in no mood for smart-mouthed replies. "Wipe that smirk off your face." _And consider it payback for the incident in the car._

Outraged by how cruel she thought Satella was acting, the young apostle wanted to say something reprimanding, but she had obviously been struck dumb and couldn't utter a single comprehensible word. Instead she just let out an endless stream of incoherent sounds.

"You hit me! How mean!" Rosette exclaimed. _I'm sick you damn coward. I'll get you when I get better._

"Go to sleep." Satella said on her way out.

When Satella left the girl finally managed to to say something understandable to human ears. "Rosette, are you alright?"

But she was already asleep.

x x x x x x x x x x x x

x x x x x x x x x x x x

Rosette returned to her seat, it was strange how the gypsy could order her around like that. She took a sip of the tea again. It was hot, and it calmed her down.

"To help make zings clear I veel show you some illustrations."

In an instant the old lady had pulled out a piece of paper with her left hand and a foot-long branch with her right.

Rosette's eyes widened. _What... Where did they come from, did she just get them out from behind her back? _

"Now look here, childe." The gypsy held the paper forth.

The teen's eyes went even wider in disbelief.

On the paper,

_Oh..._

giving Rosette a big smile and waving,

_my..._

was...

_God._

a stickman.

_The old bag's a raving lunatic._

"Stop making zat look." The gypsy sounded annoyed, peeking at the girl from over the paper. "Vee cannot all be artists!"

Rosette had to get another sip of the tea. "No, no... of course not... please go on..." She made a valiant effort to hold back her giggling, but looking at the skinny figure on the paper, which was so warmly greeting her, she knew she was fighting a loosing battle.

"Very vell. Zis eez a picture of a human, eet contains zree important... vhat can you say... parts." She tapped the branch to the head of the stickman. "Zere eez ze mind." She moved it down to the 'torso'. "Ze body." She tapped the branch again on the vertical line. "And ze heart."

The young nun was being as attentive as she could manage.

"Vee know vhat ze physical functions of zese zree parts are. Ze body eez... vell, eet eez ze body... vhich holds everyzing else. Ze heart keeps ze blood circulating in ze body, keeping eet alive. And ze mind eez home of ze consciousness, von could call eet ze vantage point from vhich everyzing eez perceived. Of course von can talk about all ze ozer organs in ze body az vell, but zese are ze only vons vhich have spiritual counterparts."

"Spiritual counterparts?" Try as she might, Rosette really could take neither the drawing nor the old woman's 'teachings' seriously.

"Yes childe. Let me show you how zis looks in ze 'spirit vorld' so to say."

The woman turned the paper around revealing another crude drawing. Again tapping the branch on the paper she said. "Here vee have ze body, mind, heart, and ze soul."

_Ok, this... is completely ridiculous. _"Uhhmm...?" Rosette pointed at the paper trying her best to look skeptical, while suppressing the laughs that just wouldn't stay back.

"Yes?"

"They're just four circles on a piece of papAUUWW..."

The gypsy had struck Rosette over the fingers with her pointing stick. She appeared as if she was going to lose it completely now. "I KNOW! Zat ez luks like fier zierkels on ein paper. Ez eez nicht easy zu draw zings fon ze spirit vorld! You zink YOU kann doo bezzer? Hier zen!" She shoved the drawing in the surprised sisters face.

_Wow, her accent really gets heavy when she gets agitated. _"No,no,no... I was just mentioning it because... I don't know what all of this means." _I seriously need to find a way out before the crone starts doing a puppet show._ Rosette had to drink a bit more, otherwise she might just break down laughing.

"Very vell zen." The woman's accent had reverted back to the original, indicating she was calming down. "Eet eez actually very simple. Vhen two circles touch, eet means zey can communicate." She again pointed the piece of wood to the paper. "Az you can see, ze mind touches all ze ozer circles, so eet can communicate vit zem all, and so can ze heart. Ze body and soul are apart, because zey don't speak directly to each ozer."

"Ohh... Kay...?"

"Ze point eez zat zese four all have a spiritual function, in ze same vay zat ze zree of zem have a physical function vhich I showed you before. You see ze physical function of ze heart vas ze pumping of ze blood, but people talk about ze heart in many ozer vays too." The gypsy slowed down her voice a bit, indicating this was important. "Ze spiritual functions of ze heart eez to be ze home of a persons hope, love, and dreams."

The teen raised an eyebrow. "So you're saying that hope, love, and dreams, all reside in the heart?"

Putting down the paper and the branch on the table, she answered with a question of her own. "Does zat come az a surprise to you, childe?"

"Well... eh... no... I mean... well... I just didn't think of them as being actually... in there..."

"But childe, zey are not. Not in ze vay you zink. You are still picturing ze heart az ze muscle vhich pumps ze blood zrough ze body. But zat eez merely ze physical manifestation of ze heart. Ze spiritual heart eez not ze same, but zey are each a part of ze zing zat you vould call your heart."

"Ohh..." Rosette felt as if she understood a little bit more. "So if someone would feel... that they love someone else... with all their heart..." She was having quite a bit of trouble saying this out loud.

The fortune teller gave her an intense look "Zen ze person eez more correct zan she even knows herself," she stated.

The gold haired nun blushed instantly._ Why did she say... 'she'?_

Noticing Rosettes sudden discomfort the gypsy quickly continued. "Ze body here eez ze home of a persons passions. A passion can take many forms, eet veel seem, zat eet can take ze form of anyzing held in ze heart. But zere eez a major difference. Ze passions are inherently self serving in nature, you can even say zat zey are lacking ze compassion of ze heart."

"Uhhhh..." Rosette was beginning to loose track of what the woman was talking about again.

"Vell, for example. If a person vants to change ze vorld, to make eet a better place to live for everyvon, and zey selflessly sacrifice zemselves to make eet come true, zen eet could be called a dream, and eet vould come from ze heart."

"I see."

"If a person vants to change ze vorld, to shape after zeir own vishes, using vhatever means, be eet tools or people, necessary to make eet come true, zen eet vould be a passion, and eet vould come from ze body, even zough eet could still be called zat persons dream."

Rosette took another sip of the cup. She wasn't as inclined to burst out with laughter anymore.

"Anozer simple example, eez ze difference betveen ze vords 'I love you' and 'I vant you'. Ze first zree words are basically from ze heart, vhere az ze second are from ze body."

"But... you make it sound like one's good and the other's bad. I mean are all... actions, or whatever you'd call it, this black and white?"

"No, no, no. Not at all, childe. Actions and feelings are a mix of ze vants of ze body and ze heart. Vell, at least if you are human, but I veel come back to zat later." The woman shifted in her seat. "But even zough you may vant to characterize ze vishes of ze heart az being 'good' and zose of ze body az 'evil' eet eez not az simple az zat. Because ze passions are self serving, zey are also self _preserving_. If von did not posses ze passions of ze body, von vould not have any selfish motivations. Living and dying could ultimately be determined by ze mercy of ozers, and zat eez not desirable for any living being."

That did make sense. "But... how does this have anything to do with him being sick."

"Childe, he eez _not_ sick." The old woman let out a small sigh while giving the girl a glance silently saying 'I told you zat already'. In a strange way even her facial expression seemed to have an accent. "And all zis eez necessary in order to understand vhat eez happening to his soul." Folding her hands again she continued. "You see, your soul eez ze seed from vhich everyzing else has grown. Eet eez ze center of your being, ze core of your existence. Ze life vhich vas given to you, vhen you vere born, came from ze astral line. Zis life eez held vizin your soul, and zat makes a soul vhat ultimately separates you from a dead zing. All ze ozer parts vhich makes up any living being could not exist vizout eet. Vhen a person dies, ze soul veel immediately return to ze astral line, vhere ze raw astral eet vas originally made from veel diffuse into ze stream. Ozer souls veel eventually be created from ze astral, ze building blocks of souls if you veel."

Rosette was taken aback, she had seen the astral line once, she knew it to be true. But even so, she only knew two who seemed to posses any knowledge about it. The first was Chrno, but that was only natural since he was a demon, and he had once used it as sustenance. The second was father Remington, and he was extremely well versed in virtually every religious and spiritual scripture in existence. This was definitely not common knowledge._ How does she know about all this? She even makes it sound so casual. _"Uhm... the soul..." Rosette still had trouble referring to the circles with their names. "On the drawing. It's partly behind... the heart, does that mean anything?"

"Now zat." The fortune teller's tone suddenly became eager, and she tapped the two circles with her finger repeatedly. "Eez ze important zing here, zat eez ze fourt spiritual function of ze heart, and eet eez von zat eez az vital to ze soul, az ze physical function eez to ze body." Again she gave Rosette an intense stare. "Ze heart eez ze guardian of ze soul."

Rosette swallowed the tea in her mouth. "The... guardian?"

"Yes, eet eez gifted vit a powerful shield vhich veel protect ze soul from attacks."

"I get it... when a soul is attacked by someone, they've breached through this shield."

"No." The response was very blunt. "Zis shield eez impenetrable, eet cannot be breached by anyzing. If somevon vishes to attack a soul, like a demon zat eats souls, zen ze attacker must reach ze soul first, and ze only vay to reach a soul eez to be lead zere by ze heart. You can say zat ze soul-eater has been invited in by ze person eet eez attacking, and since ze heart itself has guided ze attacker to ze soul, eet veel not try to stop ze attack eizer."

"But why would ANYONE...?" Rosette exclaimed.

"Some humans are lured by ze promises of demons, az you already know. Zey readily invite zese demons into ze soul, and ze reasons are az numerous az zere are people." The fortune teller had a slightly depressed tone in her voice.

Rosette thought about some of the rich satanists houses, where she and Chrno had been exorcising demons. _Well, they asked for it.__ But if something's attacking Chrno's soul, how did it... _"But this demon... he would NEVER... I mean he knows about soul-eaters and all that, he wouldn't..."

"No I did not expect zat eizer. But you must understand zat zere exists no von who can reach a soul vizout ze heart guiding zem zere."

"How do you know that for sure?"

"Trust me on zis von childe..."

"But that makes no sense... I mean if nobody can even get to a soul, without the own persons heart leading them to it, then what is it that's attacking him? And if they don't even need to breach this shield, then what good does it do? What does it protect against?" She just couldn't make any sense of this.

"Nozing..." The gypsy stated simply.

"NOTHING? What do you mean nothing?" Rosette was now standing with her fists firmly planted on the table leaning towards the old woman, who just sat completely calm.

"Childe, you should sit down and drink some more tea. You veel not be able to listen if you are angry."

The complete calm and leisurely pace, with which the gypsy spoke, was making Rosette furious. She honestly began to consider if she could speed things up by pinning the hag in a Full Nelson, but quickly disbanded the thought, not only for being ludicrous, but barbarous as well. She was just an old lady after all. Reluctantly she sat down and took a sip of the cup as suggested.It did douse her anger and frustration somewhat.

"You must understand, childe." The gypsy continued not affected the slightest by the nearly erupted geyser in human form before her. "Everyzing comes in pairs. Eet vould not make sense if eet didn't. To have light you must also have darkness. If zere vas no sorrow zen happiness could not exist eizer. Do you see?"

"Yeah, but what does that have to do with anything?" Rosette's voice was more than a bit annoyed, this was going absolutely nowhere, and the accent was starting to drive her absolutely insane. How hard could it possibly be to pronounce a simple 'th', or a 'w' for that matter?

"Vell, if everyzing comes in pairs, zen in order for zere to be creation, zere has to be... annihilation."

"Annihilation?"

"Yes. And vee all know zat creation, in vhatever form eet might have taken place, has happened. Ozervise all of zis" She made a sweeping motion with her arm as if pointing at the whole world. "Vould not exist now vould eet?"

"But what is that? This... thing?"

"Eet eez a great nozingness vhich veel attack everyvhere, everyzing and everyvon. Eet does so indiscriminately, vizout regard to anyzing. Eet eez not evil, eet has no allegiance, eet eez just zere. Eet fulfills eets role by being ze opposite of creation. Eet simply tries to unmake vhat eez already made."

"But... that's so cruel." Rosette didn't want to believe that such a thing could exist. "Why would God even create something like that?"

"Perhaps..." The gypsy looked saddened. "God didn't make eet. Perhaps ze rule zat everyzing comes in pairs, eez not made by God eizer, but eez an unavoidable fact. Perhaps God vas bound by zis same rule vhen ze vorld vas created. Perhaps zat eez vhy God gave every living zing a heart. A heart vhich possesses a shield zat cannot be breached. Perhaps zis eez ze only vay to protect zose creations zat are ze most dear to God. Perhaps... God eez not almighty, but simply... ze creator."

The sister was stunned. "But then... why haven't anybody ever heard of this?" A sudden sadness came over her and her voice became weak. "Why has this never been seen?"

The old woman appeared even older now. "Eet eez happening az vee speak zis very moment. You just have to know vhere to look for eet. Eet just veel not happen directly to living beings like humans or animals, and zat eez vhy eet goes by so unnoticed. Vhich eez for ze best."

Rosette was paying more attention now. Her initial skepticism had waned, even though she would have wished otherwise.

"Vhen zis...nozingness... attacks a person, eet veel alvays attack ze core of ze being directly. Zis means eet veel attack ze soul. But eet eez impossible for eet to succeed, since ze heart veel protect ze soul." Her expression changed to one of concern. "I am sorry for saying zis, but I believe, zat eet eez zis very zing vhich eez attacking your demon friend."

Even though she knew that this was what the old woman would say, Rosette had still hoped for another, less sinister, explanation. "But you said, that the shield could not be breached, that it was impenetrable. Then how...?" She started to get frightened._ Is this really happening to Chrno? Is this... thing... attacking his soul?_

"Zere can only be von explanation for zat. Ze shield eez simply not zere."

"But how's that possible? I mean if the heart's supposed to do this, then why doesn't... it... just...?" Her words trailed off.

The fortune teller put a comforting hand on Rosette's wrist, she didn't say anything. She was letting the conclusion come to the young nun herself.

"You're saying..." Blue eyes were slowly becoming watery. "That there's something wrong... with his heart?"

The old woman merely nodded.

* * *

And that's it for chapter 2. I hope you still like it (those of you that liked the first one), and do click on the lonely button named 'go' next to 'submit review', it needs you :-).

A bit of clarification about souls etc. for the interested. In Chrno Crusade (at least according to wikipedia) a 'soul' isn't what you'd normally call a 'soul', but is in fact the 'life force' of a person. What would traditionally be called a 'soul' is probably in CC called the persons 'spirit'. The whole body, mind, heart, soul thing is something I made up for this fanfic, and put together they would make up a persons 'spirit' (Add a heart, a soul, a mind and a body to a large pot, pour in 1 pint of water and the seasoning mix, stir, boil and... Instant spirit). So when something is draining a soul it's actually draining that persons life force. This also gives some explanation to soul eaters. Instead of using horns to drain life force directly from the astral line, they take it from a person (or they do a bit of both, varying your diet is good for your health). Thus Chrno's indeed a 'soul eater' himself, though not really by his own choice.


	3. Cause

Authors yappin':

First of all merry Christmas and happy new year and all that jazz to everyone. Hope you all had a great holiday, with all the presents, parties and whatnot that comes with it. Well it's back to business as usual and that also means back to writing.

I've seen a couple of people think that the gypsy's accent is a pain in the a--. I've spoken with her and she does feel bad for any inconvenience, frustration and mental anguish it might cause, but she can't change the way she speaks now, she was just made that way (sorry but she isn't up for a remake, I really don't feel like taking the accent away from her now). If it's any consolation, she's not given as much 'air time' in this chapter as she was in the last, and I think she will get even less (though I'm not really sure about that) in the next, which by the way will be the last chapter.

I also noticed how I've in the description of my fic have put angst and ROMANCE (yikes), so I felt compelled to sneak in a bit of fluff in this chapter, hope it turned out alright since I've never written something like that before (and I feel quite clueless about how to estimate the quality of my own writing).

Apart from that I really want to thank each and every reviewer for giving their feedback on this little fic, I must admit I'm flattered that they're generally so positive, and I hope I can keep it interesting for you guys :-)

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X X X X X X X X X X X X

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Denotes actual place/time change. A perspective change without a 'scene' change does not usually warrant this.

x x x x x x x x x x x x

Purely imaginary place/time change such as a person having a longer flashback or falling asleep and starting to dream, the actual time/place is unchanged. Double lines indicates going from 'the real world' into a dream or flashback or vice versa. A single line will indicate different 'states' in the dream/flashback (still a scene change but it's the same persons dream or general flashback before and after the line).

"Speech"

_Thoughts_

**Trancendental voice**

EXCLAMATION!

And the combination today (drumroll...)

"_Telepathy"_ (Crash cymbal, hihats and drummer basically going ballistic)

Disclaimer: I hereby renounce my claim to any part of Chrno Crusade (sniff) and any money (sniff again) which can be made from it.

And now... for something completely different...

It's...

* * *

The Curing Kiss

By Shnoosh

Chapter 3 - Cause

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He was burning... or rather he felt he was burning. However there was no fire, no flames were feeding off his body. So he wasn't really burning... right?

He had tried to escape it, to find somewhere he would be safe. A haven deep within his mind that could shelter him.

It was just too hard...

After the spots had started to form, sleeping had turned into a state of recurring nightly torment, with each subsequent dream being more torturous than the previous.

There was no real hope...

Refraining from going to sleep during the night had seemed like a sound strategy at first, but the fever induced weariness had put an effective stop to that course of action.

Why had he even tried...?

And now daytime wasn't even a guarantee that he could stay awake.

Did it even matter...?

He would still burn. The spots would still be there. And more would still come.

The fever and the spots... They walked hand in hand, and he was the ground upon which they trampled.

They had even appeared at the same time.

He remembered it all to vividly.

That particular dream had been fused into his memory.

x x x x x x x x x x x x

He was asleep now, he knew it. The darkness was almost becoming familiar to him. It didn't even represent anything unpleasant anymore, not that it was pleasant in any way, it was just somthing he was slowly getting used to. Something inevitable which happened every time he slept.

He scratched his chin. _Might as well get it over with._

He put his legs into a tailor style position, folding his hands and resting his elbows on his knees. Closing his eyes he tried to obtain a meditative state.

He remained completely motionless, appearing much like an infernal idol floating in vast space, except there were no stars. Time went by at an alarmingly sluggish pace, as he continously tried to empty his mind, or maybe it flew by. Quantifying time was an artificial concept anyway, and without anything to keep track of it, it was meaningless. He opened his eyes again, a clear sign of his failure to reach any deeper spiritual insight.

_I'm not really any good at this. Heh, I ought to be, with all the time I spent in that tomb. Time actually seemed to pass faster then because I slept most of it away, and now a single night takes forever because I'm sleeping... ironic._

He needed to occupy himself somehow, and thinking about all the things that had transpired on their journey so far seemed like a good idea. So he started sorting everything out in his mind... not that he hadn't done that before either, but the pastime options in the dream were limited to say the least. In particular, he thought about the train ride, and the subsequent crash.

_Rizel's dead now. Wonder how Aion's gonna deal with that. He most likely won't, she was just a pawn to him anyway. She actually was a wretch. Always yearning for his appreciation, and he knew it, simply using it to further his own ends. Gotta hand it to him, he knows how to get people to do as he pleases, I nearly had to die in order to wake up, and the only reason I didn't..._

He had to mentally smack himself for drifting down that trail. It brought up the old festering wound... The one which never seemed inclined to heal. Why did his thoughts do that...? Always fancying the memories which caused him grief. He forced himself to return thinking about the now deceased sinner.

_Wonder if she even loved him, or if she was only infatuated with his power and vision? Probably the latter, Rizel capable of loving... not likely. It really was a small miracle that we all got out of that train wreck alive. Rosette sure knows how to pick an accident. Hope she doesn't feel like some sort of magnet for disasters... _That thought brought a smile._ The way they seem to follow her around that might be hard. _He looked towards his left._ Rosette... Will you ever visit me here again? I'd like that. Huh...?_

He suddenly noticed the slight tingle in the thumb on his right hand. _What's this?_ It felt very real. _Hmmm... A nerve twitch? Nah. Can't be. I'm supposed to be dreaming, right?_ This was the first time he felt something resembling a physical sensation in the dream. Could it be a simple trick of his mind? Could his mind even do that when he was dreaming? It was strange, but in a way it was also comforting. To be able to feel something, when there normally was nothing.

He inspected the digit. _Nope. Looks normal. Odd tingle though._ The tingle slowly increased in intensity. It began to feel slightly more unpleasant. _Maybe it's some kind of nerve anyway._ He began massaging his thumb in an effort to make it feel better._ Didn't expect to experience something like this in a dream. Well, guess there's a first time for everyth..._

"Auuw..."

_Dammit that actually hurt. Stupid aching thumb._

The tingle had increased to a throbbing ache, sometimes stronger, sometimes weaker. He kept massaging the finger, not really knowing what else to do. The ache gradually became worse, and it seemed to begin echoing throughout his hand and arm. _If it doesn't stop I'm gonna bite the damn thing off,_ he thought menacingly._ Why won't it just stop?_

The ache had now evolved into regular pain. He clutched the thumb with his left hand, and started to bite his teeth together. _What the... ? This really... hurts... It's just... my thumb... how the hell... can it hurt... this much?_ He was now forcefully squeezing the finger, trying to replace the throbbing pain with one of his own making. That would be more acceptable, then he would know what caused it. He realized that his jaw was also aching slightly from biting together his teeth.

Then he began burning.

Demon eyes shot open at the new excruciating sensation. His whole hand was ablaze with white-hot flames, slowly and agonizingly turning it into cinders.

No... there was no fire.

It only felt...

_By the... gods...! What kind... of pain... IS this... this is... it's... just... my goddamn... THUMB! _Sweat trickled down his shuddering body as the intensity of the torture soared.

"WHAT'S HAPPENING?"

The shout was muted and immediately swallowed by the void. He knew all to well that no answer would come. Fiercely he grinded his teeth togther again, seemingly in an effort to break his own jaw. But even if that would be possible it would not be enough to diverge him from the torrent of fiery pain that rushed out of this accursed finger.

His strength began to diminish, the conflagration was laying waste to everything. His jaw slacked. His clutching hand began loosening it's grip. He was weak, powerless, devoured by the scorching that raged through his entire being by now. Crimson eyes were watering. He usually never cried over physical pain, he had experienced too much of that already. As the last strength in his body left him his left hand opened unwillingly, revealing the source of it all. His eyes widened in shock and disbelief.

_It's... BOILING?_

Tiny 'bubbles' kept rising to the surface of the finger making the flesh bulge out, releasing harrowing surges of incinerating torment through him when they appeared to explode._ NO... THIS... IS... IMPOSSIBLE... _The bulges grew forth bursting incessantly, endlessly, and his eyes refused to close or look away, they were transfixed on the macabre spectacle. His thumb appeared gigantic, he felt nothing else. The skin was still intact, the 'bubbles' were all beneath the skin, it was the inside which was boiling, trying to break through the frail barrier. _THIS... CAN'T... BE... THIS... HAPPENS... INSIDE... ME...?_

Pain... Anger... Denial... Fear... Anguish... Despair...

It all mixed together into a massive beast of emotion, which welled up forcefully within him. He couldn't move, he couldn't close his eyes, he couldn't fight back. He could do nothing but let his feelings consume him, as he stared at his hand, unable to resist the onslaught. His face showed the full spectrum of what went on inside him as sweat and tears flowed freely.

Then it burst open.

**YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRGGGHHH...**

It wasn't a voice, but it was still a scream. To call it inhuman would be an understatement. Chrno's eyes were wide open. His hands and feet were jerked as far from his torso as possible, making him appear racked by an invisible force. Deep fissures had opened up in the thumb, but no blood came out. Instead a brilliant crimson light flared from the gashes, dancing out of the cracks like ethereal flames, dissappearing into nothing. Every part of him cried into the emptiness, with agony transcending physical comprehension. His expression was brutally twisted into a silent howl. His mouth started to open wider than his face could allow without breaking in halves, seemingly his lower jaw was beginning to unhinge itself. His features appeared to be melting, as if he was about to be remodelled or simply become formless. Then the light died, the pain vanished, and Chrno instantly curled into fetal position...

He trembled...

Time passed...

He couldn't think, or gather the strength to move.

He simply stayed in his curled up position.

Like an animal guided only by instincts.

Trembling with fear...

His face was buried in his hands. His legs were dragged all the way up to his chest. His wings were wrapped tightly around him, as they normally did when they were shielding him. He felt so incredibly alone.

_Rosette..._

The second he gathered his thoughts, he became aware of the pain. It came from his thumb, or rather from the joint were his thumb had been attached to his hand.

It was still burning...

It had been ever since...

He just hadn't noticed until now.

The intangible fear had litterally shattered his consciousness, but now when he had assembled his mind once again he could feel it. He couldn't actually sense the finger anymore, a flame had replaced it, burning his hand at the root. It was a blistering feeling, but still it only resembled physical pain. That made it sufferable. _Have to see what happened to it._ He really didn't want to look.

Slowly, extremely slowly he removed his hands from his face. He then opened his eyes while holding up his right hand in front of his face, forcing himself to look, and the sight of it filled him with sorrow. There was only one word which could come close to describing what Chrno felt at that moment.

Loss.

His hand looked completely normal, except the thumb. It was jet black. Rough and scarred like volcanic rock, which had been spewed out of a long dead volcano. It was a hideous sight to behold. It was charred and devoid of life, yet still resembling what was once a part of him. _But it's not a part of me anymore, it's nothing... but a mockery._ He started to become angry. Angry at whatever had caused this, angry for having a part of himself so brutally torn away, angry for being so utterly defenseless...

Tears of frustration pressed forth, but were held back.

He tried to touch the dead lump with his other hand. _I... can't even feel it... with my other fingers. It's really gone, as if... it was never there. It's like... I'm trying to remember something... which never was there in the first place. It's been... wiped out... _Somehow it felt much worse than if it had merely been chopped off. Somehow the thumb of his dream body represented much more than a simple appendage on his hand. Somehow the darkness now seemed more ominous than ever before. It was smothering him, threatening to swallow him, to unmake him.

He curled into a protective ball, wrapping his wings around himself protectively, burying his face deeply within his hands once again, trying to block out the dark. Fearfully anticipating the feel of a slight tingle. _Why is this happening to me?_

The demon simply floated in the void, all the while the flame on his right hand sent a blistering pain through him. It was all that was real anymore, all which made him feel somewhat alive in this sea of blackness. The burning anguish of something he had lost.

x x x x x x x x x x x x

That day, when he woke up, he was drenched in sweat...

He immediately inspected his right hand. It appeared normal. _Shit. That dream only gets worse. _His arm dropped down to the bed again, and he let out a deep breath he had been holding in.

He sat up. His body felt heavy. _I'm even more tired than when I went to bed._

Letting his legs drop over the side of the bed, he tried to force himself to get up, but his weariness fought him. _I'm trembling, and covered in sweat. Now what's wrong with me? Well, suppose it's only natural that I'm affected by such a nightmare._ He went to get his clothes from the chair he had casually laid them on the night before, but on the short trip over there he became extremely dizzy. He reached out and grabbed the chair for support, but his legs buckled under his seemingly ten ton body him sending him down on one knee quivering. _Damn, get a grip Chrno._ He lowered his head in an attempt to fight off the dizzyness.

"Chrno..." The voice was slightly annoyed. It belonged to his human contractor who had just entered the room. "You're sleeping late again... Oh you're... up..." Her plan had been to drag him out of bed and give him a good clobbering for keeping them all waiting, but seing her partner had stopped both her movements and her speech.

"Why are you kneeling? Are you alright?" Rosette couldn't help commenting on Chrno's odd position. Apparently he was in the middle of swearing allegiance to the chair.

Chrno gave her an embarrassed smile. "Yeah. I'm fine." He lied as he stood up. "I'll be down in a minute." He felt weary, but he was going to fight it off. He really needed to stay awake.

Rosette went over to him, looking concerned. "Chrno." She grabbed his face, pulling his cheeks. "Are you sure you're alright? If something's wrong you'd tell me, right?" Her eyes were locked on his.

"Ophh coursh." He slowly removed the cheek pinchers and pushed back a little, still holding her hands in his own. He was weak and sore but didn't want Rosette to worry about him. He felt she saw right through him, when she was that close. He had to keep her at an arms length... just until he got better.

Rosette was slightly shocked and a little sad. He never removed her hands when she pinched his cheeks. Why would he start now? Was there something really wrong with him? Something told her there was more to this than him being a bit moody. "Chrno..." She tried moving closer to him.

"I guess I'm just taking advantage of not having to get up so early." She was cut short by the demon, who smiled reassuringly. He let go of her, and went to pick up his clothes. He felt a bit more awake. That was good. "I'll get dressed, and then we can move on."

Still worried but letting out a sigh of resignation the sister continued. "Ok. If you say so. Me and Azmaria are downstairs and ready to go. We asked to borrow a car, but apparently they need it. We're gonna have to walk, and the sooner we start the sooner we'll get to San Francisco. But you should get a shower first, 'cause you feel a bit sticky. Did you have some sort of nightmare?"

"It's nothing to worry about." _I'm not gonna bother you again with this dream of mine. You've got enough on your mind as it is, without having to be concerned with a demon's nightmare as well._ It was strange. Whenever he was awake, he could somehow brush aside the dream as being just that. "I'll go get a shower then and meet you down there shortly."

She wasn't convinced, but they needed to get going soon. If something was bothering him, he would tell her when he was ready. If they had more time, she wouldn't let it go so easily, she would try and pry it out of him now, with a carefully measured dose (ok an abitrary amount) of Rosette-applied physical persuasion. She went towards the door. If she just had more time...

"Rosette."

"Yeah?"

"Sorry to keep you waiting like this." He smiled.

The exorcist smiled back. "It's Jake." She went out of the room.

Chrno relaxed a bit, getting his towel and heading for the bathroom. _A shower will freshen me up. Then I'll get better, and we'll be on our way. I'm NOT gonna let her down now when we're finally getting close to Joshua._ He didn't dare to think the thought, but inside he was dreading having to go to sleep again.

x x x x x x x x x x x x

x x x x x x x x x x x x

Something knocked...

"Chrno..."

It was Azmarias voice. Everything was a blur. He opened his eyes a bit more. His vision focused and he saw the girl enter the room with a tray. He let out a slight moan as he tried to sit up in the bed, his body was aching with the fever.

"How do you feel?" She was her usual cheery self. She went to the side of the bed, putting down the tray on the nightstand.

"Azmaria..." Chrno sat up. _Oh... don't ask._

Azmaria put a hand on his forehead comparing his temperature with her own. "Your fever is not coming down yet." She looked slightly concerned.

He wasn't surprised, it was the expected verdict. _That would have been too easy, I guess._

Azmaria smiled, as she thought about what she had brought him."Eating is an important part of recovery."

_Not really in the mood for eating, but anything's better than going back to sleep right away._

The apostle turned around and grabbed the tray again. Putting it down on the bed in front of Chrno. She looked at him expectantly.

Crimson eyes widened when he saw the food. He let in a deep breath savoring the flavors. There was a bowl of soup with meat and vegetables in, bread smelling as if it had just been taken out of the oven, some cake for desert, and cup of hot chocolate to go with it all. This was more than he typically ate in a day. After all he only did so for his own enjoyment, not to survive. "Amazing!" Chrno grabbed the spoon. "Did you make all of this, Azmaria?"

"I hope you'll like it." She had never made something this big before, and was visibly nervous about how he was going to react, when he tasted it.

Chrno took a spoonful of the broth. It was hearty and rich in taste, the heat flowed through him soothingly. "It's delicious."

"Great!" The little chef beamed with childish pride. "Take your time eating." With a big smile she turned around giving Chrno time to finish the meal. "I'll come to get the tray later."

_I might not be hungry, but I'm still going to eat up. _He let the smell of the food circle through him. "Thank you, Azmaria."_ That'll make Azmaria happy too._

"Oh, Azmaria."

"Yes?"

"Where's Rosette?" Chrno had nearly forgotten about this. He was a little puzzled that she hadn't come to see him after her and Satella got back.

"Uh..." Azmaria didn't quite know how she was going to put this.

"Azmaria?"

The girl turned around again. "Well... Uhmm... first of all, you don't have to worry."

"Worry? About what?"

"She's in her room, Satella's is bringing her meal, it's at least three times as much as you've got, and she's gulping it down the way she normally does, so she seems to be fine..."

"Azmaria, just tell me what it is." Readily sensing Azmaria stalling Chrno pressed for an answer.

"Well... She's got a fever."

_WHAT?_

"Huh? Fever?" His thoughts started racing with ludicrous speed. _Does that mean no it can't it's not related and I'm a demon she's human it's different they get sick we don't she's eating like normal so she's doing better than me... she's doing better... _He calmed down a bit. "And still she's eating like a hog?" _Guess humans just deal with these things more easily. _"Good grief, Rosette."

"Right..." The girl, let out a small grin, picturing Rosette's eating habits in her head.

X X X X X X X X X X X X

X X X X X X X X X X X X

All of the plates in front of Rosette were empty, she had devoured the seven course meal in a matter of minutes. In a few more she was probably going to feel full to the point of nausea, but she really didn't care, it had tasted so good she just couldn't stop herself. "That was Yummi!" She exclaimed in a child-like manner, stretching her arms.

Satella who had witnessed the ordeal, was more than a little skeptical at the glutton's alleged condition. "Are you sure you're sick?"

"Yeah." Rosette answered quickly, it wasn't as if she'd let a simple fever keep her from the pleasures in life, such as eating. "Oh, Satella?" She asked when said woman turned to leave. "How's Chrno doing?"

Satella turned around again. "His fever hasn't come down yet."

The nun's heart sank, she knew they had both been given fever medicine. There wasn't many things she'd actually prayed for in her life, but the medicine working on Chrno had been one of them.

"I guess ordinary medicine won't work on him." The conclusion made by the jewel witch was simple and obvious, but the impact of hearing the words out loud made everything more real to Rosette.

'_Cause it's not an ordinary fever... _Rosette's expression turned sad.

"What?" Satella suddenly looked concerned, she had actually never seen the sister sad before. Angry; hurt; frustrated; bewildered; scared yes, but never really just plain... sad.

"It just isn't the same." The honey-blonde girl said meekly. _Chrno... Is it really true?_ "With him being sick." _Can you actually... die...? I can't... live with that..._

"Do you actually..." The german summoner's voice was genuinely surprised.

"It's really annoying without a pack mule." Rosette's words said one thing but her face said another. _I can't... live with myself if..._

This explanation was not met with approbation. "Huh?"

Rosette made her best fake yawn, and tried to look sleepy. "This town is so hilly, and makes me tired." _Go away..._

"Is Chrno simply a servant to you?" Satella exclaimed.

_Of course not you dumb dora, but you really think I'm gonna tell you?_ "We can't even go out to look for Joshua until he recovers. Geez!" Rosette purposefully avoided the question and pretended to go to sleep, waiting for Satella to leave.

"What... You..." Satella really didn't know what to say now, and the so-called sick girl simply ignored her apparently already asleep. With an annoyed huff she threw her arms out in abandonment, turned around, and left not bothering to close the door gently.

Blue watery eyes opened the second the red haired was gone. _I can't... live without you..._

Now when she was alone, there was nothing holding it back. She buried her face in the pillow sobbing. _Chrno... Tell me it's not true... Tell me the fortune teller was wrong..._ But she had felt the gypsy to be right all along, and the fact that the cold medicine didn't work, just made her believe it even more.

She turned and looked out the window. Tears were slowly, but steadily running down her face, one stream crossing over the ridge of her nose. Her hands forcefully clutched the sheets, and she bit the inside of her cheek, in an attempt to steady herself. The slightly metallic taste in her mouth hinted that she might have bitten a tad too hard, it didn't stop her from biting the other cheek though. _Have to be strong... Have to be strong... _She was almost citing it like a religious mantra._ Be strong... for him... It's all... I can do..._ Rosette shut her eyes tightly, feeling so powerless about what she was facing, she was used to battling demons, various infernal summoners and satanists. It was simple. All she needed was to aim right, and be stronger and meaner than everyone else. She could do that, but this... was completely out of her control.

She sat up, fully intending to get out of bed and go towards her partners room, but she was drowsy from eating all the food, and her fever wasn't gone yet either. Her head started to swim and she almost dropped down on the bed again. _No... I can't wait... _She wanted to get up again, being idle just made her think, and her thoughts only made her cry right now. But her body didn't allow her to leave the bed. _Maybe I just need to sleep a little..._ She closed her eyes, trying to brush it all aside, but didn't succeed. Soon the pillow was wet with the water of her renewed silenced weeping.

Eventually the fever, and all the food she'd been eating, forced the young sister into an uneasy sleep...

x x x x x x x x x x x x

x x x x x x x x x x x x

"But..." Rosette began to feel a bit chilly, she gripped the still warm cup firmer. "What's wrong then?"

"Childe..." The fortune teller continued slowly. "Every emotion and feeling spring from ze vants and needs of ze heart and ze body, and zey veel unavoidably have to deal vit ze same... subjects from time to time."

"And...?"

"Ze body eez selfish and eet veel pursue eets passions selfishly. On ze ozer hand ze heart's approach eez von of compassion and self sacrifice. If a goal eez shared by ze heart and ze body zey veel vork in unison, finding a vay in betveen ze extremes, to ze fulfillment of eet." The woman glanced towards the small fire, which seemed to be dwindling. "But eet happens sometimes zat ze heart and body disagrees completely about somezing, and vhen zey do, zey start to struggle."

"Why do they do that? When they're part of the same person?"

"Struggling eez ze vay of ze vorld. Eet eez ze most basic vay of deciding who eez strongest. But in zis case eet eez entirely up to ze heart. Eizer ze heart veel change eets vish of eets own volition, or eet veel vin. A determined heart eez alvays stronger zan ze body, and in zat case ze body veel eventually loose. Zat passion veel diminish, and ze person veel follow ze heart instead. In time ozer passions veel emerge and replace ze pacified von."

"But... that seems so... harsh."

"You must understand, zat passions can be very dangerous sometimes. A person controlled solely by a passion veel care nozing for ozers in his pursuit of eet. Ze passion might not seem harmful, but ze mezods of fulfilling eet can very vell be. Zis eez not true for all passions, and not all decisions need to be made az a compromise betveen ze body and ze heart, only ze important vons. Do you understand all of zis?"

"Yeah I think I do..." Though she still thought it seemed a bit brutal. But maybe it made sense, maybe this was what you felt whenever you found yourself at some kind of emotional crossroad. Maybe two parts of you were literally fighting...

"Good. Now zat vas how eet vorked vit humans. For demons eet eez an entirely different story." She leaned forward again. "Demons are entirely controlled by zeir passions. Eet eez because zey have a demon heart, vhich never influences zeir actions. Zat eez vhy zey often seem cruel, von vould typically call it... heartless."

"NO!" Rosette exclaimed, getting up again. "Not all of them are like that! Ch... The demon I know isn't like that!" Here was one thing were she knew the gypsy was wrong.

"I know, childe." The woman said never wavering. "And zat eez vhy he is so remarkable... and vhy he has a fever."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Ze demon body eez a frightening zing. Eet eez an engine of destruction as vell as an engine of passion. Ze blood burns vhite-hot in zeir veins."

She sat down, and she was blushing again. _You're right about that..._

"And a human heart vizin a demon body." The old woman looked down at her hands. "Eez a fragile zing indeed."

"A human heart in a demon body?"

"Yes, childe. Zat eez vhat he has. A human heart. A heart vhich veel influence his actions. A heart vhich veel allow him to dream. A heart vhich makes him able to feel hope, and to love. But also a heart vhich can come into conflict vit his body. A demon heart vould _never_ do zat."

"But what happens then?" Rosette's own heart had begun beating faster, her hands were becoming slightly sweaty.

"Ze demon body eez mercilessly strong, and unforgiving. Eet veel try to make ze heart yield to eets vishes. But ze heart eez different zan ze body, eet can not be forced to give up. Ze body veel try to crush ze heart into submission, and ze heart veel not be able to fight back, eet simply does not have ze power."

The teen bit her lip. _This can't be real._

"Ze struggle veel take time, how long depends on how strong ze heart eez. Von by von ze four functions of ze heart veel cease to vork, az ze body veel continue to overvhelm it."

_No this has to be a lie..._

"And in ze end ze heart veel lose, but eet veel never yield."

"NO!" Rosette had shot up from her seat for the umpteenth time, water began clouding her vision. She didn't want to believe any of this. "This isn't true..." However she did believe. "it's some kind of twisted..." Her voice trailed off as she dropped down again.

"I'm sorry, childe." Was all the fortune teller said.

Rosette quickly drank a large gulp of the tea. Hoping that the strange magic could soothe her now aching heart, it didn't do much however.

For a time she just sat down looking at the cup in her hands. She really didn't want to hear any more, it all just seemed so unnecessarily cruel. She started to feel guilty for having taken everything so lightly at first. _I should have been the one to discover that you had a fever. I should have taken it more seriously._ Rosette bit her lip again forcing herself not to cry.

_You even tried to tell me on the train... didn't you..._

x x x x x x x x x x x x

"Rosette..." His voice sounded sleepy.

"Sorry. Did I wake you up?" The bumping of the train made it hard for Rosette to sleep. She didn't think she would be able to anyway though. She was too exited about finally going to find Joshua.

"No. You can't sleep?"

She gave him a smile. _No, and neither can you apparently._ "You know, I don't like just sitting around."

"You don't feel calm unless you're breaking something, do you?" The demon teased, evidently he was in a playful mood.

Rosette grabbed and pulled his cheeks. "What's that supposed to mean?" She wasn't mad, it was just an excuse. She loved the ridiculous expression he got when she did it, kinda like he was trying to eat a ruler in a most impractical way.

"Yuh, thath's more like ith, Rosetthe." His smile was hopelessly distorted by her hands.

Azmaria made her presence known by letting out a few small whimpers in her sleep.

"Shhhh..." The demon hushed.

Rosette made a small sound of agreement. She didn't want her to wake up either, being alone with her partner was something which had gotten increasingly difficult of late.

She realized that she was still pulling Chrno's face apart, aware that he didn't make a single move to remove her hands... he never did. She cocked her head slightly letting an amused smile cross her face. Quickly she leaned forward planting a small kiss on his mouth, before letting go of him and returning to her seat.

Chrno massaged his abused cheeks, he sometimes wondered afterwards why he just let her do it, it wasn't particularly pleasant to let your face become the center of a tug-of-war like that. But seeing how it always managed to bring out that little smile of genuine enjoyment, he really had no choice. He would do literally anything just to see that smile.

"You know," the nun whispered. "If you can't sleep, you can come sit here next to me. Just put the luggage down gently on the floor so you don't wake up Azmaria."

With a small grin he followed up on the suggestion.

They sat in silence for a few minutes. The sound of the train was almost mesmerizing, a slow steady pulse indicating that they were moving towards their destination... the final destination marking the end of a four year long journey.

She wanted to say something but couldn't quite form the words. When she finally spoke, it wasn't what she had originally intended, but it would have to do.

"I really can't wait to see Joshua again." The tone wasn't her usual confident self, and she looked down at her lap where her hands fidgeted with the gloves she had just removed. "It's almost unbelievable that we're only a couple of days away, don't you think?"

The sinner took her hands in his, making them relax and focus on him instead. "I know, I'm looking forward to it too."

"I hope we'll find him quickly." Turning her head she looked directly at him. Her expression was almost pleading.

It was obvious to him.

Without actually saying so she was voicing her apprehensions and insecurities to him. Typically Rosette. Only giving hints and leaving it up to him to decrypt the real meaning behind her words. But she wouldn't really be the same, if she just stated her emotions bluntly, now would she? Besides, he noted with a mental pat on the back, he was getting better at it. These past four years had been tumultuous to put it mildly, but never once had she shown a single sign that she was giving up hope. She had always moved ahead with determination and optimism, sometimes so fast it almost made him feel like a dead weight around her ankle being dragged along. Now, when they were nearing the end, she was suddenly getting scared. Well, he was gonna be damned before he would let her down or allow her to lose heart.

"Rosette..." he began still holding her hands. "I don't know how, but I truly feel that Aion _is_ in San Francisco somewhere, and if _he_ is, then Joshua will be there too." It was the truth, something more than the orders intelligence reports told him so. "And I promise..." His eyes had locked on hers, convincing her of the sincerity in his words. "that the second we get there, we'll go look for him, and we _will_ find him, _and_ get him back. Probably a lot sooner than you expect."

Hearing those words immediately comforted her, and she visibly relaxed.

"And after we deal with it, there will be nothing to stop us from pursuing our dreams. We can stay with the order if you want, or we can leave and never look back. It will simply be the three of us again... well maybe four." He gave a slight motion of his head towards the sleeping girl, and continued with a smirk on his face. "That is, if you still want me around after we find Joshua."

She simply sat and stared a bit dumbly into his eyes.

Those brightly burning crimson eyes...

They literally sent fire through her, melting away the chill of her fears. Not a second after, her arms had wrapped around him, and he returned the gesture immediately. She buried her head in the crook between his neck and shoulder, trembling slightly. _Of course I do..._

He was hers. Her partner. Her demon. Her Chrno.

The one whom she had found committing a slow suicide.

The one whom she felt she had given a new life, and in return he had opened up a strange world to her. Dark, mysterious and completely wonderful.

The one who had made her believe, that there really could be something more in this life for her.

The one who had probably become her biggest sin... a sin she would rather die than ask forgiveness for.

The one who made her feel something nobody else had.

Not Remington. Not Joshua. Not... anyone.

And it was a feeling, which was the diametrically opposite of what a demon should make any human feel.

Her breathing became heavier as the fire, ignited by his eyes, began to spread throughout her, her body entering a state of heated relaxation.

Safe...

He made her feel safe.

She tightened her hold on him, and felt him do the same.

He was hers, and she was not letting him go.

She could feel the warmth of his body, the beating of his heart, it was evident even through the clothes. Taking a deep breath she let the sweet air in deeply, savoring his scent. It was so different from everything else, exotic and powerful. Just like him. It sent a wave of warm shivers coursing through her. Her left hand had found his hair and she buried it in the purple tresses beginning to gently massage the back of his neck and head.

"Uhh... Rosette?"

She wet her lips brushing them lightly against the exposed part of his neck. Purposefully and with immoral intent she started to caress it with her mouth and tongue, letting the taste of him mingle with the smell. Slowly she worked her way over the sensitive skin.

Chrno's eyes turned wide. "Ro-Rosette..." His whisper had an urgency to it. "N-not here..." Although she wasn't exactly acting like it right now, Rosette was still dressed like a nun, and if something like this was seen, and news of it reached back to the convent, the repercussions would indeed be severe. He couldn't let that happen. Could he? Of course he couldn't!

"I know..." The gold haired seductress continued her trail of kisses in between hushed words. "But... everyone's asleep..." More kisses softly grazed his skin as she continued upwards. "no one's... gonna... see anything..."

"But... Azmaria... is sitting... right there..." This was most definitely not good, Rosette often acted without thinking ahead... but damn... seriously..._ Oh shit..._

The exorcist had worked her way up past his jawline and begun to nibble the lobe of his elf-like ear. Tracing the outline of it with her lips making soft suction marks every inch she went, brought a low moan from him, and she could feel his breathing becoming slightly louder and more ragged. She knew and loved the effect it had on him, a slight smile crossed her eager lips, and a few breathless words escaped them again. "Just... relax..." She really wanted him to... and kiss her back.

The soft feeling of Rosette's caressing lips was slowly but unavoidably eating away his resolve, his eyes were closed now, and a low purr involuntarily escaped his throat. _Dammit... _He had grasped her even tighter and unwillingly started to twist the cloth of her militia dress. _Dammit... _His treacherous hands were seemingly trying to dig their way through the fabric to the smooth skin underneath. _Dammit... _He had to stop this right here, right now before he officially lost his restraint.

With a surge of self-command he pushed away a bit, still trying to control his breathing and his hands. It ended her advances though probably only momentarily, now was his chance. "Rosette... please..." God, he hated himself for saying this. "This just... isn't the place..."

His reaction had startled and stopped her, and hearing his words made her lower her gaze. He was right... she knew it... he was simply trying to protect them... protect her. It was just so... damn... frustrating! Everyone else could basically just waltz around showing public displays of affection with whomever they now pleased, and she couldn't, because by human standards she was in love with the wrong person. In fact she wasn't even permitted to BE in love.

_It just isn't fair..._

And to make matters even worse, it was _him_ who had just rejected _her_ for the sake of keeping up the whole charade. The sting of getting turned down like that, no matter how good a reason, made her both discomfited and a bit incensed. She looked up again, even though she didn't really want to meet the demons eyes, there was a hint of guilt in his expression.

"I'm sorry... Rosette, I don't mean... It's not that I don't want to or anything..."

"Don't want _what,_ you little pervert?" The demon was immediately caught in a headlock by the embarrassed nun, who didn't hold back in giving him a forceful noogie. "You're telling me, you can't give me _one_ simple kiss, without getting all kinds of other thoughts? What kind of man are you?"

"Auuw! Geez, Rosette... calm down... I didn't mean... seriously... it wasn't _me_ who... auuw..."

Indeed, Rosette had found a way to ease her discomfort.

The sudden sound of Azmaria murmuring something incoherent, instantly made her stop the assault on his scalp for fear of waking her up. Ah well, she had gotten her retribution now anyway.

Her arms were still around the head of the flustered demon, who seemed to bracing himself for another attack. It was an almost humbling feeling that he simply allowed her to take out her frustrations on him, and instead of releasing her hold on him she let her arms slide tenderly down around his back once again while hiding her face in his shoulder. It was partly because she still craved his embrace and partly her way of silently saying sorry for attacking his head. Thankfully he didn't try to retreat. When he let out a slight breath and let his arms lock firmly around her waist, it was a clear indication that the apology was accepted.

For several minutes they simply stayed like this, with arms wrapped around each other, without uttering a single word. Again the rhythmic drumming of the train became the beat of the trance-like drive towards the end of their journey. Rosette had calmed down markedly from the agitated mood she was in, before Chrno awoke. His words had successfully convinced her that in the end it would turn out alright, for Joshua, for Azmaria, and for her and him...

Slowly and with a slight reluctance she let go with her arms and scooted a bit away. Glancing sideways she saw that the apostle was still sleeping. She became aware of her own tiredness now.

"Maybe you should try to get some sleep too Chrno, it's a long train ride." Her eyes had found his again, she could still see the red blaze within them.

"Nah. I'd much rather stay awake."

"How come?"

"Well... I don't really know how to explain this. But these last couple of days... when I'm sleeping... it just seems as if I can't dream anymore."

That was just plain silly, and Rosette had to giggle a bit at the statement. "You're saying... that you don't want to go to sleep, because you're afraid you won't dream? If everybody felt like that, then no one would sleep, ever." She gave him a nudge to the head. "You know, You're very odd, even for a demon."

"That's not really what I meant," he said with a slight frown.

"Then what _do_ you mean?"

Chrno's face contorted into an expression of profound speculation. How could he best describe it? "Well... it's like I'm dreaming... but then again not, because I feel awake... but I'm all alone, and everything's completely dark, and..." _Arh crap... _

"It's just... I feel like I won't ever dream anything else."

"Listen..." Sometimes he just acted really strange, maybe it was because he was a demon and somewhat of a novice, when it came to certain things that humans considered trivial. Looking straight at him, she grabbed his face with her hand from underneath his chin, pressing the cheeks forward making his lips blossom out into the shape of a trumpet. Yeah, she loved that face too. "Dreams are weird you know, and sometimes they reoccur for no obvious reason, but that doesn't have to mean anything." Somehow she had to reassure him that dreams were just that... dreams. It was funny though, how someone so old could act like a a little child. "Don't worry about it, it'll pass soon enough." She once again let go of his marvelously moldable face, letting it revert to its original shape.

"Yeah... guess you're right about that." He tried to convince himself, after all what did he know about dreams, he was the only demon to ever have any, and humans have had them since the dawn of time. He noticed how his contractor had begun appearing sleepy and continued. "I still don't feel like sleeping though, but if you want to, you can lean on me."

That wasn't an offer he needed to propose twice, and with almost girlish enthusiasm the exorcist promptly accepted, finding a comfortable position, cuddling into the warmth of the demon. He had shifted his position putting his left arm around her, so she could rest against his chest. Her head lay just so she could hear his heartbeat, it was a lulling even pulse which put her into a state of gentle semiconsciousness. Her hand crawled up to the side of his face, and her fingers began to stroke it absentmindedly.

Funny... she didn't seem to notice the bumping of the train quite so much anymore...

x x x x x x x x x x x x

There really wasn't any way Rosette could have perceived all of this, but she still couldn't help feeling that she should have sensed something. _Why didn't you just tell me that something was wrong, you idiot? Why did you have to act brave? _She picked up the cup again, taking a larger gulp this time.

The old woman had waited patiently, not wanting to rush the young nun any more than she could handle.

"So what happens... when the heart... does he just stop... hoping... and loving... and... dreaming...?" Rosette's words were barely more than a whisper. Honestly... she knew the answer already.

"Yes, childe." The woman switched to a more encouraging tone. "But if ze body vould stop eets assault, ze heart vould be able to regenerate itself, vhich vould actually happen very qvickly."

That did bring a tiny bit of comfort. _I just have to get your damn body to stop beating up your heart._ "Do you know... what stops first?"

"Zat... I cannot tell you childe. Eet depends on ze heart and vhich of ze four zings eet values most. You veel probably know zat better zan me."

_Chrno... You almost never worry about yourself... _Rosette felt as if she could collapse any moment now.

"But eet eez certain." The gypsy continued slowly." Zat ze second ze demon gets ze fever, his soul eez under attack. And zat means ze shield eez gone."

"Can... the soul... fight back?" She was trying to grasp small pieces of hope, the way a child tries to catch soap bubbles, they dissappeared whenever she finally caught one.

"I'm sorry. Ze soul eez not a varrior. Eet might be able to resist for a vhile but zat veel take a truly monumental amount of villpover. Still eet veel do nozing but delay ze inevitable, eventually ze soul veel succumb." The woman looked down. "Even if ze heart vould recover, ze nozingness veel have already entered ze soul. Eet veel spread like a disease, and ze soul veel not be able to fight eet." Her gaze returned to a very frightened-looking Rosette. "His soul needs help."

_No... This is... I can't do this... not alone. _She needed him now, more than ever. _But Chrno is the one who needs help now. I have to... I must... help him._ The exorcist felt very small compared to magnitude of the situation. She had come here hoping for a quick and easy way to lower his fever, and now she was told that he would be... dead... gone within... days... or maybe... even...?

The thought nearly ripped her heart in half.

"But..." Rosette didn't really want to ask this, she had a terrible feeling inside her. "How did... all this happen...? Why is his body... doing this... to his heart?" The words came out in between muted sobs.

The fortune teller laid her hand on top of Rosettes, she eyed her with heartfelt sympathy. "Eet happens because zere eez a passion in his demon body which does not agree vit his heart, and not von of zem has vished to yield to ze ozer. Ze body eez very simplistic. Most likely eet needs to feel zis passion directly, in order for eet to break out fully." She let out a regretful sigh, and lowered her voice. "I am truly sorry for telling you zis, childe."

_What does she mean?_

_No... This because...? _

_Oh no... Magdalene..._

_and me and Chrno..._

_Oh no we've..._

_no... no... it can't be... no... _

The teen sat silently gripping the cup, her eyes were completely blank, she was staring at nothing. Her face was a mask of disbelief as the world silently crashed around her.

_no..._

Then the full force of realization hit her.

Rosette passed out.

Never even noticing that the old gypsy had moved over to the side of her chair to catch her.

x x x x x x x x x x x x

x x x x x x x x x x x x

She jerked up from the bed covered in sweat and trembling. Her eyes were wide with shock, and she was breathing heavily.

Her face filled with misery, and she instantly covered it in her hands. _Oh... God... I'm sorry... _Droplets of salty water pushed through the space between her fingers and trickled down her arms. _Chrno... I'm so sorry... I never knew... I swear... I never... knew... Please... I... was... selfish... I'm... sorry... _Rosettes simply sat upright in her bed, crying and trembling.

_No... don't... think... _This was no time to be a weepy girl. _You have something, you must do._ The thoughts sounded very adamant in her head. They had to, focusing on just doing without thinking was all that held her together right now. She got out of bed, sniffed once, and dried her eyes. The light from under the door was gone, suggesting that the rest of the house had gone to bed, the quiet of the night had draped the mansion in a blanket of silence. _The others are probably asleep now. _She picked up her blouse putting it over her night gown, and went for the door, slowly opening it careful not to wake up anyone. Walking like an automaton through the hall, never looking to her sides, she purposefully made it for Chrno's room. She didn't even see Steiner who was coming up the stairs.

x x x x x x x x x x x x

x x x x x x x x x x x x

She woke up in the arms of an old woman, she could smell the peculiar smell of various incenses, and she heard the faint crackling sounds of a small dying fire. _What... where... _Slowly her head cleared as she recognized the fortune teller holding her. Their conversation flooded back into her memory, and Rosette could not help it.

The fortune teller didn't say anything. She simply held the anguished nun while rocking gently back and forth, trying to comfort her, much in the same way one comforts a crying child.

"Here, drink a bit, eet eez still varm, eet veel help."

Rosette took the cup, and greedily drank the tea, not bothering to dry her eyes or doing something about her nose which had begun running. Even though she nearly choked, trying to drink and sob simultaneously, she began feeling slightly calmer as the last of the strangely soothing beverage worked its way through her, she was thankful that the fortune teller had insisted on making it.

She sat up straight on the ground. The last thing she needed now was to be cradled like a kid.

The fortune teller let go with her arms, but was still kneeling beside her.

Rosette thought about what was happening to Chrno. She knew it wasn't the entire truth, but she couldn't quite shake the horrible feeling that in some cruel, twisted way, this was her fault. She looked down at the empty cup in her hands. "This thing... that's happening... to his soul... does it hurt... a lot?" She had no idea, why she was even asking this question. She didn't want to know. It just came out.

"Childe..." The gypsy gave her a reassuring smile. "I zink eet eez high time vee talk about how to help your demon friend."

Rosette couldn't agree more.

* * *

Oh my... I do believe a certain young nun is in for quite the little guilt trip now (evil grin). Seriously, I think I got tired of Chrno always feeling guilty about stealing Rosette's life, not standing up to Aion, not doing the right things at the right times, not saying the right things, not being able to cause flowers to sprout spontaneously from the ground Rosette walks upon etc. etc. So I guess I tried to turn the tables around a bit, I don't know if this causes the good sister to apear OOC, but then again I don't think I've quite seen her in this situation before, so meh...

Now there's only one more chapter to go, we still need that big ol' smoochie-woochie that's gonna make everything fine n' dandy again so stay tuned.

Oh and do review... nudge nudge, wink wink


	4. Cure

Author's Gibberish:

Finally (heavy sigh). This is the final chapter which will conclude my little quadrulogy, and it was by far the hardest one to write, mainly because I needed to put so much in there. Maybe I got a bit carried away, I dunno, but I think it turned out pretty much the way I wanted it to. I'm terribly sorry for the long waiting time of the chapter. Writer's block simply didn't want to leave me alone with this one, and it took a skiing trip and a resulting cold keeping me at home for a week, to actually get me to hack and slash my way through it. I think the chapter had a total of a 4 week stall almost, but hopefully it's worth the wait.

Furthermore: HOLY CRAP this chapter ended up being so much longer than I had first anticipated, I knew it would probably be the longest but this is... proofreading hell! And I sincerely hope you like longer chapters because this one is far longer than any of the previous.

Now... there's one reviewer I'd like to address and, that's the one known as **blokrocknbeats**. I'm sorry that the story confuses you, and I have been considering how to make things more clear. This was why I first introduced the difference between the single and double dashed lines in the first place, which I had hoped would make the reader able to better distinguish between what was dreams/flashbacks etc. and what wasn't. Unfortunately I can't read out of your review exactly where and when, everything goes wrong (except the gypsy speak of course), which makes it hard to make any concrete changes to the chapters. Also you ask a lot of questions in your review, and I would gladly answer every one of them, except there's no channel for me to do so, so either you have to have an account I can send a message to, or I'm gonna need some form of E-mail address I can write to. And I encourage every one who might feel the same way about the story as blokrocknbeats, to let me know (if you're interested in wanting to know what's actually going on that is) either through a review (Author fears the flames) or through a message.

About reviews in general... WOW. I've simply gotten some the most amazing reviews this time, and I am truly flattered and humbled that my story has been so well recieved, thank you all A LOT. It would definitely have taken me much longer to write without you guys pushing me forward, so you can consider this chapter to have been written for you (bows). Please do keep reviewing, every kind is most welcome, both the ones boosting my morale (and thus my writing speed and creativity), and the ones which forces me to consider ways to improve my writing.

Lastly: I have blatantly stolen an aspect, or a scene (not directly copied, but still used the idea) from the fic 'eternal regrets, lost desires' which, as I mentioned in another AN, brought me into this whole business. I wanted to make sure that I mentioned it, and I will write at the end of the chapter which one it actually is.

* * *

X X X X X X X X X X X X

X X X X X X X X X X X X

Again a 'scene change' where actual time, place etc. can be changed.

x x x x x x x x x x x x

The imaginary 'scene changer'. Just keep in mind that a single line indicates that we're still in a flashback or dream both before and after. Only the double line shifts in and out of the 'real world'.

"Speech"

_Thoughts_

**Transcendental Voice**

EXCLAMATION!

And the last but not least in the immensely exciting series of combinations:

"_**HEADACHE!"**_ (Or I could have written 'otherworldy beings screaming and shouting inside my poor head' but I think it fits, or is that insanity...? Ach who even gives a shite about this rot...)

Disclaimer: I don't own Chrno Crusade or any of the characters portrayed within, but why should I care when I already own the exclusive rights to the whole Final Fantasy series, the majority of the shares of Microsoft, IBM and Apple, every branded Cuban cigar company in existence, as well as a substantial number of the countries in the European Union... What? I don't either? Man, life sucks.

So having gone through all the introductory thingies its finally time for the story.

Enjoy.

* * *

The Curing Kiss

By Shnoosh

Chapter 4 – Cure

* * *

His thoughts didn't drift anymore.

It was no use... so why should they?

He was still curled up. It was easier that way... when he didn't look.

Unseen flames were raging through him... silently consuming him... without turning him to ash.

He simply kept burning.

"Nnnnnggghhh..."

The muffled sound came through clenched teeth. Blighted muscles tightened in a vain attempt to fight the pain.

He had never craved death before. Not for his own sake at least. Now he just wanted to become numb. To end it all. But even that seemed too much to hope for.

_Hope... Such... utterly... meaningless... word... _His thoughts sounded almost sneering. _Isn't worth... ANYTHING...! Delusion... of... mind... too weak... to face... reality..._

At some point, he couldn't quite figure out when, he had lost all hope.

_Hah... Lost all... hope... I'd call it... acknowledging... truth..._ Each thought brought the feeling of white-hot needles, piercing him all over; rending muscles; snapping tendons; incinerating bones.

"Hgggnnnnggghhhh..."

Sweat covered his trembling form. Sometimes it dripped off his skin, and got sucked into the void. _Do... your worst... I don't care... gonna... die... don't... CARE!_

He felt something nearby.

_Someone's playing... tricks... on me... _He wrapped his wings even tighter around himself.

_They're back... _

It was the only thing he truly feared now.

_No... spots... always start... with... tingle... Or maybe... they..._

"Hgggnnnnnggghh..."

His muscles tightened, as imaginary flames seared violently through his temple.

_They change... tactics? They think... I will look... That I... will let... guard... down... by coming out... to look... Then... they... come... to get me... STUPID... I'm on to them..._

"HA... HA... HA... HA..."

The maniacal laughter, was a lot of things: Desperate, forced, eerie... Natural was just not one of them. _FOOL... _It made him convulse with pain, and ended as abruptly as it had begun. _YOU'RE the one... who's stupid... Spots don't... need... wait for... your guard... come... down... You HAVE... no guard... If they __want... they will... come... Or... you... HOPE... you can... stop them...?_

His thoughts were mercilessly scoffing at himself.

_But... what is... this...? Maybe... look..._

"HGGGNNNNNAAAAARRRRRRGGHHH..."

The demon uncurled with tremendous effort. It was almost impossible. His muscles had become so unresponsive. _No... they're not... Just not... there... anymore... All... replaced... by... spots..._

The stretching out from his fetal position seemed to take forever, and he ought to have been completely drained when he finally succeeded, but he didn't get tired in this dream... or whatever he was supposed to call it.

His eyes were still closed. They were almost unwilling to look.

He had to open them, to see the presence he'd just felt.

But could he avoid to look at himself, when he would open them?

The second he forced his eyelids to stop blocking his vision, he knew the answer.

_No..._

And he was a gruesome sight...

He didn't even look like a living being anymore. Black spots of varying sizes and shapes were splattered all over him, making him appear like a chaotic mix of living flesh and solidified lava. Some places they seemed to have grown together, appearing as large blotches of black, charred death, a clear indication of how he had simply been eaten away.

He didn't have any depth perception either.

Tremblingly he brought his left hand towards his head, fighting of the fiery sensation ravaging his arm. The hand was still largely unaffected. When it couldn't move further, he knew it meant that his hand touched the left side of his head. But he didn't feel the touch. Neither his head, nor his hand, felt it.

_Figures... Not... there anymore... my head... All this..._ He looked at himself again, letting his still existing eye wander over, the volcanic wasteland he was turning into. _All... Is gone... You can't... feel... something... which doesn't... exist... _The lines and shapes were still those of his own body, it made the blotches resemble what had been ripped from him, it was the mocking image of what was nothing but a memory. _I'm only... seing... a lie..._

The sensation of what had already happened to him and the premonition of what was yet to come made his eye fill, and a single watery droplet ran down his cheek, instantly vanishing when it encountered what used to be his chin. He didn't understand...

He just didn't understand...

But he could feel...

The scorching shot through his temple again, making him draw in violently.

"Hgggnnnnnn..."

He gritted his teeth as he once more willed his broken form to uncurl. There was still the presence he'd felt before. The feeling had come from his right side, and he would have to turn his head to look. A task which was very nearly unbearable. To his senses his neck was almost a solid thing now, and he felt it fracture and splinter invisibly as he forced it to twist.

But he still needed to look...

What he saw instantly comforted his heart. It was a vision of pure, undefiled beauty, slicing through an existence of torment.

Magdalene stood before him, pale and delicate, as she had done once before. Her figure was as exquisite as the last time. Her eyes were filled with love and concern for him. He even thought he could see her crying. Her hair and dress were dancing still in the non-existing wind.

"Waga-len..."

_WHAT?_

He almost couldn't understand himself. _Dammit! Can't... speak! My... face... really that... affected? _

He quickly dismissed the thought. Really, he didn't need to consider, how his face might appear now. Instead he tried reaching out to the woman mentally, though in truth he didn't believe, that she would be able to hear him.

_Magdalene... I'm glad... you're here... You... come... watch... over me...? Like I did... for you...? Come... to take... me with you...? Please..._

His thoughts became frantic.

_Please... take me... away from... here... Want... to die... go... to you... Can you... hear me...? Magdalene...? Answer... if you can... please..._

Even as he pleaded he had no hope that she could hear him, no hope that she would take him with her. She was just here to watch over him. Trying to bring him a bit of comfort.

He let his eye focus on her and nothing else, trying to let the radiantly beautiful woman block out the darkness.

Then his thoughts turned to Rosette. _She was... here... last time... please she... can't be here... now... Azmaria said... she had... fever..._

He jerked his head to the left, completely ignoring the blistering feeling of his neck being ripped to shreds by the flames, and he was horrified to see the enchanting vision of his contractor standing there watching him as well. Her wonderfully caring face was filled with worry for him. Yet azure eyes were sparkling with hope.

_Hope... Miss... that..._

He didn't want her, to see him this way. He knew how it would affect her, he couldn't allow it to happen. He had no idea if she was actually here in some way, but he couldn't be sure of anything, and even the slightest risk of her...

Even though it soothed his heart and soul just to gaze at her, he would not permit her to stay. Somehow he had to protect her from this place.

"Woshett..." He was trying to speak through the fiery pain. _Burn... all you... like..._ "You haw... koo go..." A violent spasm stopped him. _Dammit... _He couldn't be bothered. "gangewoush... Gonk hkay... I'w awwighk..." _Well that's... __believable... lie... _He tried to reach out with his thoughts to make her understand, that she should leave him alone, but she just stood there watching... waiting. As if she was expecting something of him.

Now he became aware of the throbbing ache all over his left thigh.

_NO... Didn't even... notice... tingling..._

"WOSHETT! WUNG! GEKH AWAY! WUUUUNNNGGgghhh..."

He couldn't see anything through the water in his eye, he couldn't even bring a hand up to dry the tears away. His thigh was beginning to boil. But he wasn't concerned about himself. He could only think of Rosette.

Writhing in pain.

In his mind he saw azure eyes turning to black pools of petrified death, soft tender skin becoming charred, lifeless rock, a beatific face twisted into a horrifying visage of torment. _Please... run away... Don't... let them... get her... Please Rosette... RUN!_ That was the last conscious thought he could muster.

Then his thigh burst open, letting the crimson flames, the very essence of his life, escape and vanish into nothing.

He jerked backwards with arms and legs stretched, making him appear crucified. His limbs extended, stretching out like rubber bands, his wings started to unravel like woven tapestries with their seams cut, his mouth opened so wide, his head touched his back, and his chin nearly touched his chest. He could not think, he could not move, he could not even maintain his own shape during the pain. Chrno's soul could do nothing but cry out in pure agony, with the otherworldly scream, that would be heard solely by the engulfing darkness...

X X X X X X X X X X X X

X X X X X X X X X X X X

She opened the door to his room slowly stepping in. Her heart had firmly lodged itself up in her throat effectively preventing her from breathing normally. She was virtually nauseous with fright, but she forced herself to walk to the bed, where her feverish partner lay uneasily, making small incoherent murmurs in his sleep. At the sight of him her own discomfort instantly vanished, replaced by an immense need to nurse him back to health. Turning towards the nightstand, she picked up the small piece of cloth in the water bowl, twisted it to drain the water from it, and placed it on the demons head. It was a meaningless gesture. But even though she knew that it did absolutely nothing to help him, seeing him like this, with the fever raging through his body, she simply had to do it.

It woke him up.

"Rosette..."

_His voice... so faint..._

"Good. You've recovered."

_When will you ever start to think about yourself, you big fool. _The thought was intended to sound scolding, but it ended being tinged with a saddened caring - after all, she loved the big fool.She steadied herself trying to keep her voice normal; she couldn't let him know how scared she was. "Chrno you should worry about yourself."

"I'll be fine."

_No you won't! Do you even believe that yourself? You don't... I can see it..._

"I just need to rest a bit more." The demon's voice clearly expressed the effort he was making to try and stay awake.

_You're lying... you're trying to... to reassure me... why?_

"I'm sorry Rosette." He drifted off to sleep.

Rosette let out a small startled sound.

_YOU'RE sorry? I'M the one who's sorry you big...! _She pulled back the moist cloth squeezing it tightly, her expression changed to a mix of remorse and devotion. _But you really mean that. You know... and you're saying sorry... because you know..._

x x x x x x x x x x x x

x x x x x x x x x x x x

"Eet eez true zat zere eez a vay to help him." The gypsy had pulled her chair over to the side of the table so they were now sitting adjacent to each other.

"Well... what is it?" Rosette urged.

"Zere are different vays to lower ze fever, and ze most direct eez vit a kiss."

"A kiss?"

"Yes a kiss. Ze demon's consciousness must also have left ze physical vorld and entered into ze spiritual von, ozervise ze soul of ze demon veel most likely not be able to sense eet. Ze consciousness enters ze spiritual vorld vhen von eez sleeping, vhich simply means zat ze kiss must be given vhen he sleeps. Ze kiss veel allow you to..."

Just more gypsy mumbo jumbo. No, there was only one thing she needed to know now, which made her interrupt the fortune teller. "But I mean... can a kiss... cure him?"

x x x x x x x x x x x x

x x x x x x x x x x x x

"Hey. Chrno." Rosette whispered.

_You're asleep now..._

The young exorcist took a deep breath gathering her courage.

_Please... let this work..._

She stood up and leaned in over the bed, lowering her face towards the sleeping demon. Her heart was thundering in her chest, and she wouldn't have been able to breathe even if her body had remembered that it should.

_I love you..._

She wet her lips lightly before gently letting them touch his, they were soft and the fever had made them very warm.

_Please... _

Rosette closed her eyes, as she pressed her lips a bit more firmly against his. All she wanted was to forget everything. All she wanted was to get lost in this kiss. All she wanted was to let the feel and taste of his lips wash away her dread and anxiety.

_Please... don't leave me..._

But the fear would not let her go.

X X X X X X X X X X X X

X X X X X X X X X X X X

Cold... moist... The soothing sensation on his forehead had somehow brought him out of the hellish dream, and now he willed his eyes to open trying to escape even further from it. The world was a complete haze. Dark colors were smeared randomly all over his field of view, except... there... to his left... there was somthing which wasn't dark. It was almost shining. Like liquid gold. He willed himself to focus on it, slowly forcing the colors to separate so he could make out the shapes. The mist slowly evaporated, and he saw two ocean blue eyes looking back at him with a nervous but intense compassion. Her face stood in sharp contrast to the dark room and the black void he had been dragged out of. It was almost a vision of an angel, sitting beside him, and holding the wonderfully cool cloth to his forehead. It felt really... nice, a truly simple and amazing feeling. "Rosette..." He remembered how he had pictured her in the dream, screaming, burning, dying... and now she was here next to him, having so easily overcome her own fever. It was nothing less than a small miracle to him. "Good. You've recovered."

"Chrno, you should worry about yourself." Her voice sounded reproving, but even in his weakened state he could still sense the caring which lay just below the surface.

_I know. _"I'll be fine." He was lying.

_But I think it's too late for me. I don't know how to fight this, and it's only getting worse._

"I'll just need to rest a bit more."

_But I can't tell you that. I can't say that I won't make it. I just... can't... I'm sorry._

"I'm sorry Rosette."

_I'm sorry that I won't be here when you find Joshua. Don't worry, I know you'll find him. I was sure of it from the day we made the contract. I really wish you'll be happy when you do. Say hi... from me..._

The demon truly wanted to stay awake, but he was quickly claimed again by the fatigue-induced sleep.

x x x x x x x x x x x x

x x x x x x x x x x x x

He had returned to the dark.

He was now in pain again.

The same pain that a lush grassland would feel when it over the course of millennia turns into a barren desert.

Or the pain of a fertile field being bled dry of all life, and forever transformed into a desolate wasteland.

Or a vivacious forest, bustling with with the activity of animals small and big, being felled, and falling silent never to harbor life again.

That was what he felt.

Except instead of nagging steadily over a span of years it had been condensed to mere minutes... or hours...? Or maybe even seconds...?

He honestly didn't know.

But he did know one thing.

He was dying, or maybe worse...

The numbing feeling of non-existence was becoming evident now. He had yearned for this previously, but now, when he truly felt it, he was scared.

Scared of being simply... eradicated.

Even the blazing sensation from the spots seemed more distant to him, but it wasn't because he tried to escape it anymore. In fact he almost attempted the opposite now.

_It's... all I... have left..._

The effort of making coherent thoughts had become increasingly hard, not only because of the pain, but also because his mind seemed to begin dissipating as well. His entire left leg had turned into a dead lump. But he felt the truth. It was simply not there anymore. So much of him had been obliterated, and what little remained was constantly being burned. He cherished the burning, it coursed through him, letting him know that part of him was still there... still alive. It was his sole feeling anymore, and he welcomed it. Everything else was gone. There was nothing but the flames left.

_Almost... feels... my... soul... vanishing._

His eye opened at that thought.

S_oul?_

Yes.

And then everything began to make sense.

The fact he was in full form.

The horns which were intact.

The disappearing of the hair and the tears when they weren't in direct contact with him.

The unendurable wasting pain when the spots were forming.

_This... all... that... remains... my... soul...?_

Chrno looked up. Moving just an inch sent fire raging through him, and he let it in.

Allowed himself to feel.

The two young women were there still, they had been looking at him the whole time.

_But why... you... here then…? If this... my soul... what... are you...?_

Magdalene and Rosette were as motionless as they had been every time they had come to visit him in the dream.

_But it's... not... dream... It's... real... What... are you... really... doing here...?_

His eye went as wide as his facial muscles would allow it.

_You're not... not here... Only me... You're... Or... I'm... trying... tell myself something...?_

The images of the two young women just stood there staring; waiting; anticipating.

X X X X X X X X X X X X

X X X X X X X X X X X X

Rosette was sitting beside the bed. She clutched Chrno's hand tightly. She could not let go. She would not let go.

_Is it working? He still feels like he's burning._

She again took the moist piece of cloth, laying it on his forehead, trying to douse the fever. She felt powerless. She was only able to comfort his body, and she hated it. She needed to heal him. She really, really did. But she felt she was doing nothing, and she was afraid the kiss might not even help.

_It's all her fault..._

The thought dripped with the venom of jealousy.

_And all I can do is sit here with this stupid piece of cloth, which won't do anything at all._ Tears of frustration and despair again welled up inside her. She had managed to keep them back, sealed in with a tiny ward of hope, but now that seal was about to break...

_DAMN YOU!_

Her head dropped low and her fists clenched. She wanted to hit something... hard.

_God damn you Mary Magdalene! Little-miss-perfect BITCH! It's all because of you..._

x x x x x x x x x x x x

x x x x x x x x x x x x

"I'm afraid zat not just any kiss veel do, childe."

Rosette swallowed.

"Eet veel have to come from ze von ze demon truly loves."

Rosette gasped.

"Ze kiss eetself eez _not_ ze cure. Eet eez ze means to administer ze cure however. Eet eez like ze needle containing ze antidote for a poison."

"But... why… does he have to… love…" Her words trailed off into small whimpering sounds. She wasn't prepared for this. She just wasn't ready. _What if he... doesn't... really..._ The thought frightened her in so many ways. Really, it was so much easier to live in ignorance. She slapped herself mentally, she couldn't let her own insecurities control her now, not when he needed her...

But what if he really needed someone else... **_slap._**

"To cure him you must help his soul, and zat means you must reach eet. Ze kiss veel only speak to his body. And ze body can only deliver ze reqvest to ze heart. Eet eez up to ze heart to decide vhether you veel be allowed into his soul... or not."

_That... makes sense. I can't reach his soul, if he doesn't want to... to lead me there._

_Chrno... do you... love me...?_

x x x x x x x x x x x x

x x x x x x x x x x x x

The edge of the bed had been stained by the first droplets of salty water now, she didn't even attempt to hold it back. She had tightened the grip on his hand even further. His fever burned as hot as always.

_You don't..._

_You never have..._

The thoughts were unbearable. _If you did... none of this would have happened. You love... HER..._ The last word dissolved slowly in her mind, eaten away by thick oozing corrosive spite. She hated her. More than she had believed herself capable of. _Having his heart wasn't enough was it... you had to poke your slimy face out of the grave, and claim the rest of him too didn't you? You just had... to take him... away... from me..._

The young exorcist cried in pure hopelessness and hatred. She hated Magdalene, for owning his love. She hated the gypsy, for telling her. She hated God, for creating everything this way. She hated Chrno, for… No!

_I don't... I can't... I can't hate you for... wanting me. I wanted it myself._

She leaned towards his ear. "I'm sorry Chrno…" Her voice was weak and coarse from crying. "I always told myself it was jake. But… it never was, was it?" She had moved her hand to the side of his head stroking his hair gently, and leaning her face closer to his trying to see through the water in her eyes. He squirmed and moaned lightly in his sleep.

"_...it just seems as if I can't dream anymore..."_

Chrno's words from the train echoed through her head. He didn't dream. He couldn't. His heart had simply lost the ability to shelter his consciousness during sleep.

_Where... are you... now..._

She hadn't thought about this before. She might subconsciously have avoided it, since it wasn't a pleasant thought to think to its conclusion.

The conclusion she arrived at now.

_No..._

Her hand instantly stopped stroking his hair, it couldn't as it was now trembling uncontrollably.

_You're hurting..._

Rosette was milliseconds away from shaking the demon out of his sleep. She couldn't bear it. She couldn't let him lie like this. His naked soul was being consumed by something she didn't even quite comprehend, and she just couldn't sit and let it happen. She needed to stop it. She needed him here with her. She needed to protect him. She needed to wrap her arms around him and feel his around her. She needed to tell him... No. It would make no difference, or on the contrary it would make everything worse. She only needed one thing.

Just one simple thing.

She only needed him to love her.

So he wouldn't be in pain.

So he wouldn't die.

In a swift and hurried motion the nun moved her head towards his pressing her lips onto his mouth again. She tried to kiss him deeper and harder than she had previously, as if it could somehow increase the likelihood that it would work. It was truly an act of desperation.

_Please... Chrno... Love me... So I won't..._

Kill you.

The absurdity of the unvoiced thought was only made worse by the fact that she actually believed it. Rosette's body immediately convulsed with sobs, and she had to pull away from her feverish partner, burying her face in her hands, wishing she could bury her heart as well.

X X X X X X X X X X X X

X X X X X X X X X X X X

If Chrno's face still was able to express feelings visually, he would appear as if he'd just seen the moon fall down and bounce up again like a rubber ball.

_Shit... I know... slow... sometimes... but... why the hell...?_

He was looking at the visions of the two young women in front of him. He knew now what his mind tried to tell him, what it had been trying to tell him all along. But he was completely clueless as to why. Pain stabbed and burned through his torso, simply making everything seem even more ludicrous.

_Can't... be serious..._

His eye again turned to Magdalene, before switching to Rosette.

_Supposed... to choose...? Now…?_

The two young women merely looked at him.

_Of all... goddamn time... in the world... make... my mind up... THIS? NOW?_

His heart had been divided for so long. Love and guilt had mixed together into an incendiary cocktail in his heart, and he had avoided it for so long, afraid of what would happen if he accidentally ignited it. But now...

For some reason he simply couldn't discern...

_I... have... to..._

Then the tingling began... and the ache came shortly after

_No... already..._

It was his torso this time and the process seemed to be going much faster. It already burned... or was that just the other spots...

_No..._

A sharp stabbing pain flared through him, nearly making him cry out...

the first bubble had burst...

_NO..._

Then another bubble... and another... each one sent him into an almost seizurelike spasm. The dark color of fright was visibly painted across his face, but something else was also evident...

_NO!_

His chest had turned into a sickeningly bubbling mass, resembling vile viscous fluid boiling in a witch's cauldron. His previously well-defined torso had virtually melted, as if he was beginning a transformation into some amorphous physical aberration.

_This... can... NOT..._

But... there was something he needed to do...

_I... will... NOT!_

A tiny crack had appeared where a bubble had burst, it seemed to want to open wider. Inside crimson flames danced back and forth. Repeatedly the found their way to the slowly opening fissure...

But something made them turn around when they reached the oblong opening, it held them back, keeping them inside...

**I**

**WILL**

**NOT**

**ALLOW**

**THIS**

Chrno had willed his broken soul to fight.

The bubbles burst with increasing frequency now, more cracks started appearing, each one forcing itself to open up, ripping his skin apart like wet paper. Soon his entire chest was only mere shreds of remnant skin looking like tattered rags. The bright light swirled frantically behind the fleshy looking strips, but it kept staying inside him. He contained it within himself by pure force of will. His form started to morph and shift with the extreme effort his soul was making, limbs seemed to extend and retract, new appendages even formed and vanished again. His face twisted and churned, and didn't resemble anything even remotely similar to neither human nor demon. Chrno was throwing everything he had into the fray. The pain was incomprehensible and threatened to tear him asunder, ending him here and now in a brilliant flash of crimson.

But he was not giving up this time.

**STOP IT**

**NOW**

In the blink of an eye the bubbles ceased, the cracks closed, and Chrno curled up as his shape reverted to normal.

He was trembling. But it wasn't only with fear this time.

_What the... How did...?_

He slowly uncurled again, and looked down, examining his chest. His lips formed into slight smile of contentment at what he saw.

His chest was in no worse condition than before.

_Guess... I still... have... fight... left... in me..._ He didn't have time to dwell on it though. There was still something he had to do, and only a limited time to do it in. He couldn't count on his ability to repeat the feat he had just performed. The two female apparitions were still there looking at him, he almost thought he saw something new in their eyes...

Approval.

He let his eyes turn towards Magdalene first, as he had done every time in this dream.

This was it.

Something he had never dared to do before. He was going to die, but he would do so without a divided heart. He owed that much to himself.

And to them...

X X X X X X X X X X X X

X X X X X X X X X X X X

Rosette sat gripping her empty cup tighter.

She was getting really angry now.

Everything about this was simply... wrong...

"I just... don't... get it..." The nun tried to calm herself without much success. "How am I supposed to believe, that God is good, when he has created something so cruel...?" Her voice quivered with agitation. "How can it be, that there exists beings, that are completely incapable of loving ANYTHING?" Her eyes had locked on a small defect in the crude wooden table not wanting to meet the gaze of the old gypsy. "How can God possibly be good... when someone who's supposed to be... evil... risks dying because he's actually NOT?" Her sentences began to break as sobs of fury cut them into pieces. "How could God..." The last sentence trailed off. _Make love into something... punishable?_

"I'm sorry about all zis, childe," the fortune teller answered. "Eet really vas not God who made eet zis vay."

"Then who did?" Rosette had always been told that everything was created according to some higher plan, and even though she had never believed it fully, it was news to her that there were other major players in this twisted game of creation.

"Are you really sure you vant to know, childe? I zink eet might hurt you."

"Of course I'm sure!" Now she was getting angry again, she wasn't going to let some old woman decide what she needed to know or not. "I asked, didn't I?"

The fortune teller smiled slightly at the sister's outburst, the kind of resigned smile you put on when you're inwardly saying 'I could have told myself that'. "Very vell," she proceeded. "In a vay, God created ze demons, and in a vay God did not."

"What does that mean?" Rosette intervened.

The gypsy seemed to think for a moment before answering. "Zere eez no time to explain everyzing, but I veel tell you zat ze mozzer of all demons rebelled against God. Ze vorld, vhich vas still young, recognized zis az a purely selfish act, so her being vas adapted to suit her selfishness, and in time zis made her into ze first demon. Her demon name vas Pandemonium, and she created a vorld named after herself vhere demons vould live. So, even if God did not directly create ze demons, ze mechanism by vhich ze demons vere born vas indeed created by God." Her tone sounded regretful.

Rosette wanted to ask more questions to this, but the old gypsy hushed her so she could continue. "But zere vere more conseqvences... von vas zat no female demon vould be fertile except Pandemonium herself, almost az if creation vas trying to minimize an error realized after eet has been made. Zis forced ze demons to build a rigidly structured society around Pandemonium herself vhere order vas enforced savagely, and eet also kept zeir numbers down. If zis had not been ze case zere vould be no humans in ze vorld now."

"But..." The young sister just couldn't keep her mouth shut. "why only the females...? If creation wanted to undo a mistake why not all of them?" The sentence immediately ricocheted back into her mind were it was met with the thought of Chrno, who was in the center of all this. She somehow felt guilty for even asking, and her eyes lowered towards the table.

"I said _minimize,_ not _undo_. Humans and demons alike are _all_ children of creation, zey are _all_ children of God. Zey are _not_ all good, and, az you already know, zey are _not_ all evil. Often such a zing can be a matter of perspective."

"Oh..." Was the old woman actually saying that creation itself... that God had... allowed demons to exist? Then what had she been doing all this time? Was it all... just a lie? A misinterpretation of Gods intention? No... she had to believe in herself, and in the justification of the order... they WERE doing something good. After all, the fact that there existed human criminals didn't make every human a criminal either, and maybe the same was true for demons as well.

The gypsy gave the young nun a few moments to process the new information, the enlarged vein on the teen's forehead was a dead give-away that she was thinking very hard about all this, but before long, Rosette was again dragged out of her thoughts by the slightly raspy voice.

"Pandemonium cast a mighty spell on ze entire demon race vhich prevented zeir hearts from functioning ze vay human hearts do. Eet turned zeir hearts into a cold bastion of steel and stone vit ze only purpose of protecting ze soul. Zis vould cause zem to be entirely controlled by zeir passions, and von of ze most dominating passions eez ze von associated vit procreation. For demons zis passion can only spring to life vhen actual reproduction eez possible, and since zis vas only possible vit Pandemonium herself, eet could act az anozer vay of keeping control. Only ze strongest and smartest of ze demon males vould actually mate vit her, a necessity to ensure ze vell-being of ze entire species. Zey vould be hand-picked and put zrough tests of body and mind, vhere zey vould be pinned against each ozer in massive and vicious gladiator fights, and in ze end zere vould only be von vinner."

Rosette almost hurt physically hearing about the pure brutality of Chrno's home world. He had been living in an oppressive hell for so long, crushed under the iron fist of a cold-hearted pragmatic matriarch.

And when he finally got out he simply continued to go on living on in a hell of his own making...

And now he was...

Somehow it seemed to her that no matter what, the world always had more suffering in store for him.

The exorcist's anger started to rise again.

By what right could the entire world do all this...? Which divine decree proclaimed that the most decent, caring, noble, selfless demon... no PERSON in the whole world was supposed to live in such anguish? Was that supposed to be JUSTICE? What the hell was God THINKING?

The gypsy put a hand on the wrist of the almost tremblingly furious sister, who was trying her best to keep the massive amount of steam inside her from bursting out of her ears with a loud hoot. In an odd way Rosette was somehow calmed by the touch, and she once more turned her attention to the old woman next to her.

"But," The gypsy continued. "Eet so happens zat Pandemonium also knew a lot about ze vorkings of ze vorld, and in her own vay she cared about her children. Even zough zis spell could be seen az a means to control her race, she knew about ze interplay betveen ze body and ze heart. She knew zat she vould be ze only demon to instill true passion in ozer male demons. She also knew zat ze demon body eez stronger zan ze heart. And she knew zat a heart eez not somezing vhich can be controlled."

Rosette's eyes had widened at this last sentence, and small droplets were again forming in them.

_No this is just not... true..._

"Do you understand now, vhy Pandemonium chose to take avay ze hopes, ze loves and ze dreams of all demons?"

_She wanted... to prevent them..._

The girl lost all strength in her body.

_From loving somebody else..._

Her head practically fell towards the table, and it would probably have clashed with the wooden surface, if her arms had not been positioned were it landed.

_So they wouldn't die..._

She hid her face further in her arms, as her whole body ached with the sobbing spasms and pitifully sounding hiccups, over which she had no control.

_When she... made them... _

This was too much.

_mate... with her..._

Simply too much...

The old woman put a gentle hand on Rosette's head, brushed it in comforting manner and, almost as if she was responding to the teen's thoughts, said. "In a cruel vorld... Such an act vould even seem... merciful..."

But the young sister didn't hear a single word of it.

x x x x x x x x x x x x

x x x x x x x x x x x x

Rosette just couldn't deny it anymore...

She literally hated the whole world, all of creation, and the injustice which everything was so afflicted with.

But there was a single person she hated right now above all else...

Herself.

What... _was_ she...

Some form of heartless demon? A wicked succubus? Only trying to satisfy her own needs? Simply taking what she wanted from him? Killing him while doing it? Never even caring how he felt? Forcing him into something his heart obviously wasn't emotionally ready for?

Of course, she had believed that he would love her, that eventually he would forget about Magdalene, and truly be hers. In fact she had convinced herself that he already did, felt he already was. Oh god, she had been so selfishly naïve... and so wrong.

She knew of his pain. His hurt. The scars he had carried around in his heart and his soul. She had sensed it in him for a long time. The feeling was strengthened by their contract, and she had really wanted to stop it. She had believed that she could. But her intentions and her actions were just so far apart.

She was just a part of his pain now.

Now he just lay here before her, dying from that very pain... because he loved somebody who was not her, because she had failed to respect that. And she was completely powerless to do anything about it. It was a horrible testament of her sin. A sin she had vowed never to ask forgiveness for, which was exactly what she was doing now. But she wasn't asking God's forgiveness, or the church's, or any other religious authority's. The whole bunch could go to hell along with the rest of creation for all she cared! No she was asking forgiveness from the only one that mattered right now, she was asking for the forgiveness... of a sinner. She knew, that he would probably give it without even a second's hesitation.

The thought only made her self-loathing worse.

She didn't cry anymore, she probably would have if she was still able to, but her eyes had dried up like two small ponds in a season of drought. She was still holding his burningly warm hand, stroking it tenderly, trying to bring him a tiny amount of comfort. In a faraway place in her subconsciousness, she still hoped, that her kiss could work, that the fever would suddenly lower itself, but the rest of her mind had already convinced itself of the dreadful fact that he might never even wake up again...

_**Tick...  
**_

How would she go on without him...

_**Tick...**_

How could she possibly live with herself...

_**Tick...**_

Even though she had left it in her own room, the sound of the clock still echoed through her soul...

_**Tick...**_

She could easily picture the heavy brass and glass contraption hanging around her neck...

_**Tick...**_

The past four years, her life had been slowly drained by it in order to feed him...

_**Tick...**_

It was a strange weakening feeling, like something was constantly taking tiny sips of her...

_**Tick...**_

Eventually, she had become accustomed to it, and even come to terms with the fact that she probably wouldn't make it into her late twenties...

_**Tick...**_

It still made her cry a bit sometimes however, she had hoped for a long and happy life...

_**Tick...**_

But she would never tell him how sad it could make her, she knew how guilty it would make him feel...

_**Tick...**_

She didn't want him to feel guilty about it...

_**Tick...**_

But she could sense that he still did because...

_**Tick...**_

He had used it once before...

_**Tick...**_

He had even killed with it...

_**Tick...**_

And the one to die was the one he had loved... and still loved...

_**Tick...**_

And sometimes during these past four years, she would see a quick wisp of airy melancholy brush quickly across his face...

_**Tick...**_

And she would know what he was thinking about at those times, but she would never speak of it...

_**Tick...**_

She knew it brought him pain...

_**Tick...**_

She didn't want to cause him pain...

_**Tick...**_

Rosette leaned closer towards Chrno's face again and put her hand on his forehead, gently brushing a little lock of purple aside.

_**Tick...**_

_This... is this... how you truly feel... about yourself..._

_**Tick...**_

_** Tick...**_

X X X X X X X X X X X X

X X X X X X X X X X X X

Chrno focused his mind and eye on one thing and one thing only.

The woman he was looking at.

Mary Magdalene.

She was so incredibly beautiful, that he almost felt he could defile her by staring at her with his sinner's gaze. She had given him so much... and he had only taken from her without giving anything in return... he had simply... killed her... brutally sucked the life out of her with that infernal clock, so he could selfishly heal himself and continue his wretched existence..

How could he think that someone else should be able to take her place? How could he even consider to dishonor her memory by allowing himself to love someone else?

She had loved him...

The wound which was almost 60 years old was now wide open.

_No... _

This was wrong.

He couldn't allow the guilt to control him anymore, he had to look beyond it.

He had to truly realize what she meant to him.

He recalled the brief time they were together...

When he first saw her, he was taken aback by her sheer frail beauty, and he had not been unaware of the lithe and graceful body which were hidden underneath the dress either. He was supposed to bring her to the sinners, they needed her for their plan to work. She had willingly come with him, even though he was supposed to kidnap her, she had even helped him in their escape, when the exorcists had shown up. She had confided in him, trusted him like no one had done ever before. She had talked about her past, her visions, her only dream, her hopes and her fears, she had opened her heart up completely and unconditionally to him, and he had felt almost humbled and unworthy of her trust, especially when she had told him that he would be the one to take everything away from her. And yes, she had loved him... she had told him so, just when he was about to choke the life out of her, because they apparently didn't need her anyway, and at that moment he had realized he simply could not do it. At that moment he had finally broken with his old self; at that moment Aion's dream of a free world seemed nothing more than a child's craving for a piece of candy it couldn't have; at that moment he had decided to turn his back on the sinners; at that moment he knew that there was something humans possessed which no demon could even hope to understand; at that moment he had realized that he was actually capable of and that he indeed did love her.

She had taught him... to love...

And he had loved her ever since...

An almost serene feeling breathed through the sinner, as he felt he finally understood just what had been given to him by the woman in front of him, a truly invaluable gift from her heart... to his.

Time stood still as he stared at her. The wind was still making her hair and dress dance, and she almost appeared to be standing on an invisible mountaintop. Her eyes held the slight sorrow, which he had come to associate with her. He had sensed it in her from the very first time he met her, that tiny aura of sadness... that minuscule hint that her lighthearted and carefree demeanor wasn't born out of an unbound spirit. It was the result of accepting an inevitable fate which had been carved out of the fabric of reality and forced upon her. She had known and felt that she would be unable to change it, so why should she worry about every little thing in her life, when all the important parts were predetermined?

She really never had any hope... did she?

But she had fallen in love with him...

And she had never foreseen or probably even expected that...

Could it be...?

That he had actually somehow done... something good...?

The feeling of flames ravaging through him sent him into convulsing spasms and he instantly became aware of his limited time.

He had to turn towards the other woman.

The golden haired teenager with the ocean blue eyes, who looked back at him with a determined expectancy in her gaze.

The once little girl who had disturbed his sleep and guilt-laden grief.

She had virtually pulled him out of that darkness and into the light, berating him and lecturing him about life being too short to be moping all the time. She had been the center of a warm and way too short interlude, in between the gloom that was his life. Something which had ended when she had asked him to make a contract with her, in order to find her brother. That was when the guilt returned. He had been her partner for four years now, and had seen how she had evolved from a young scrawny twelve-year old girl into...

A simple-minded, short-tempered, gluttonous, violent brute...

Honestly...

She literally dragged him along whenever they were going anywhere, always expecting him to take care of all the bothersome, boring and generally tedious parts, never seeming to care whether he was ready or even consenting. She would cause unpleasantly embarrassing or monetary costly scenes or both, with a much higher frequency than your average slapstick comedian, and it was almost always up to HIM to straighten things out with the offended parties afterwards. She was an incurable hothead, always rushing towards danger or excitement, disregarding any warnings he would give her, and when the shit hit the fan, which by no means was the exception, she would always be convinced that HE was somehow to blame, and she would make sure that he was well aware of it too. She would get frustrated by virtually everything and nothing, from wrecking a car for the seventeenth time in a week, which STILL would not make her inclined to drive any safer the next time she got behind a wheel, to be unable to open a can of 'Hormel Canned Ham' (AN: Spam before it really became Spam) at two o'clock in the morning, because her immense food craving had ordered her to get up and eat. And WHEN she became frustrated, her typical reaction would be to use his poor misused hide as her own personal punching bag, or go out of her way to find him and wallop him out of his sleep with the previously mentioned can of meat, JUST so he could open it for her, after which she would happily indulge in the fairly gross pulpy substance, before even considering that she just MIGHT have hurt his head. She was generally inconsiderate, she was stubborn to the point of driving him absolutely INSANE, she NEVER listened to reason, she obviously liked to beat him up, and for the life or death of him he simply could not figure out why he should even think of accepting all of it or much less why he had put up with everyth...

_Oh..._

_Shit..._

The single good eye eye of the sinner widened even more. He turned his head back towards the vision of Magdalene who still looked at him with her graceful and caring stare. His gaze lowered slightly.

_But... just... doesn't... make... sense..._

But then again, it wasn't supposed to make sense, was it?

Wouldn't it somehow be wrong if it actually did make sense?

He raised his head again eying the beautiful, lithe figure of Mary Magdalene in front of him.

_I love you..._

There was no choice for him to make.

_Magdalene..._

There never had been.

_I will... always... love you..._

There was nothing his heart had needed to figure out.

_But..._

It was just the simple act of acknowledging the obvious.

_I can never... love you... as much..._

Something which he had decidedly refrained from doing for far too long.

_As I love..._

The broken and beaten remains of the demon sinner Chrno's soul agonizingly turned towards the image of Magdalene sister and exorcist Rosette Christopher, which never once had wavered in her hopeful and fiercely compassionate expression. The burning which indicated his impending unmaking flared through him, as he stared into her eyes.

_You..._

And then... very vaguely, almost as if it would not rush the onslaught like the last failed attempt, the tingling began anew. It wasn't his chest this time, nor any of his limbs, not even his face...

It was his horns...

X X X X X X X X X X X X

X X X X X X X X X X X X

The smaller entity was now almost fully engulfed. The chaotically shifting light had dimmed, indicating that it was becoming increasingly weaker. The larger entity burned furiously, almost to a point of deeming it frustrated, as it continued to envelop the smaller. The smaller seemed completely unable to resist the overpowering, and it grew slowly fainter as the last rays of the distressed being was being blocked out by a force it simply could not fight against.

Then...

It flared up...

Its luminosity seemed to increase by several orders of magnitude, and it grew brighter still by the second. It was almost as if it was trying to shine light into the furthest regions of the endless blackness, willing to make a statement for all to see. But it wasn't the same color anymore, it had somehow changed. The desperate shifting back and forth had been replaced by a single, brilliantly clear color of ocean blue which mimicked the exact hue of the larger being. The only difference was that it was brighter.

The larger being had dimmed slightly, somehow this sudden change had appeased it. It started to withdraw revealing more and more of the now overwhelmingly blinding smaller entity.

The struggle... had ended.

X X X X X X X X X X X X

X X X X X X X X X X X X

Rosette's right hand had come to rest on her partner's head. Her fingers repeatedly dug in and out of the purple hair which, she noted, was now in dire need of a rebraiding. Why did she think about such banalities? His hair falling out of shape now ought to be the last thing on her mind now.

She should be...

But could she...?

Would he let her...?

x x x x x x x x x x x x

x x x x x x x x x x x x

Rosette lifted her head from the crude table, her expression had become blank. She felt she had already cried out every last emotion she possessed within herself, and now she was nothing but an empty husk. The old woman removed her hand from the girl's head, eying her with sympathy.

"It's jake, really, I'm fine," the teen lied. She hated those kinds of stares, it made her feel pitied and she couldn't stand it.

"You do not need to pretend to be alright, childe." The gypsy answered. "You only need to be strong... for his sake."

The words immediately cut through the thin barrier of impassivity she had put up, and her expression again displayed her feelings unmasked. "But how? How can I do that? What can I possibly do? What am I supposed to be strong about?" _How am I supposed to make him... love me?_

"Your feelings, childe. And your beliefs. You have to be true to yourself. You have to believe in him. And you have to believe me vhen I say he needs you. Besides, you have not heard about ze spiritual function of ze mind." The old woman smiled vaguely, though the smile had a reassuring quality to it. "You see ze mind acts az an overseer, eet perceives everyzing about ze ozer spiritual parts. You can even say eet recognizes problems and presents ze solutions. Alzough eet never acts eetself."

"So you're saying that..."

"You are not alone in zis, childe. His mind veel do vhatever eet can to help you. And if I am not mistaken." The gypsy's smile went a tad wider. "I zink his mind eez very persistent vhen eet needs to be."

A small weight seemed to lift from her heart. _He's gonna... help me... _The mere thought of Chrno helping her immediately gave her renewed hope, she had always felt she could accomplish virtually everything as long as he was with her. Maybe... it would be alright after all, maybe... she could make this go away, maybe...

Another thought interrupted her. "But... you said that a kiss in itself is not the cure."

"Zat eez correct." The gypsy almost seemed pleased that the largely inattentive nun had been listening.

"Don't I... need to know what the cure is then?"

"Vell, eez eet not obvious?" Again the old woman smiled. "You are, childe."

x x x x x x x x x x x x

x x x x x x x x x x x x

As the thoughts of the last parts of her conversation with the fortune teller replayed in her mind, Rosette suddenly felt very dumb and cowardly. She now truly felt she could could relate to the immense guilt Chrno had been carrying around after the death of Magdalene, and perhaps she would also want to hide in a murky tomb for decades if something similar happened because of her. But that did not change the fact that he had come out. He had come out for her. He had picked up his weapons again and been willing to fight, to help her find her brother. He had made a contract with her knowing that he would inevitably come to relive the most painful guilt of his existence once again.

And he had done it all... for her...

How could she allow her fear to control her, when there was a chance she could help him.

It was true. She might fail. And she felt almost positive, that she would not be able to live with the consequences of it.

But that's not a reason for not trying.

Really trying.

Her right hand was still gently stroking the now slightly tangled purple locks, and her left had found its way onto his neck. As she looked at him, lying in front of her, sick and helpless, every emotion she had for him somehow bloomed up inside her. The comfort of his vivid storytelling, when she was smaller, which had led her on fantastic voyages of imagination. The annoyance of his early-bird daily rhythm which often led to inventively pesky ways of getting her out of bed too, and her resulting sour moods in the morning. The security of his extreme protectiveness, which was both a reassuring haven to return to and a constricting prison, when he began acting like a parent, which was somewhat hilarious considering his less than adult form. The aggravation of his occasionally INCREDIBLE lack of simple human intuition – of course, she knew this was only natural, what with him technically not being human and all, nevertheless it still felt like it would end up killing her before the clock did. The distinctively cute appearance of his sealed form, with the dangerous undercurrent of what he really was, and the blatant attractiveness of his full form, which could heat up her blood just by thinking of it. The warmth of his concern and endless patience, which was readily made available to her whenever she felt she needed it the most.

And the love she held for it all... for all of him.

Unconsciously the fingers of her left hand had begun tracing small circular patterns along his jawline and neck, her right hand had moved between his head and pillow and was gently massaging the back of his scalp. Her cheeks had become a dark shade of pink and her head had lowered closer to his. Her breathing had become slightly more labored, and almost mimicked the sound of his. She let her eyes wander once more over his face before closing them and pressing her lips softly against his.

For the third time the nun kissed her demon, but this time it wasn't out of a fear of losing him.

Nor was it out of desperation for not wanting to commit the worst sin she could imagine.

Rosette kissed him... because she wanted to.

_Chrno..._

She kissed him because she wanted to feel the soft warm feeling of her lips brushing over his mouth and his skin.

_I don't know what I'm supposed to do..._

She kissed him because she wanted to make him feel better too.

_I don't know how this is supposed to work..._

She kissed him because she wanted to do nothing else at this very moment.

_But I wont stop until it does..._

She let her lips brush gently over his mouth, then to his cheek, past his jawline and down to his neck. Repeatedly her tongue found its way out to taste him, and join in the caressing ministrations, while her lips nibbled tenderly at the sensitive skin. Her left hand had now also begun to fondle his earlobe with an almost torturous softness. A low pleasurable sound escaped from the depths of his throat, and it made the teen smile a bit. Yeah... she knew he liked that, even in his sleep he liked it. She let her lips venture upwards via his chin and back to his mouth which was now slightly ajar, allowing her tongue to slide in under his lips and get a hint of the sweet taste from inside the cavern.

She began to feel more than a bit annoyed that this had to be done while he was asleep...

Time seemed to lose meaning, as her left hand continually traced back and forth the auricle of his ear, and her kiss became more hungry in nature. Again and again she tried to reach out with her thoughts to him, repeating his name over and over in her head along with two questions, that she somehow hoped he would hear.

Two questions, that barefacedly tried to express her inner self to him.

And then Rosette's world turned completely black...

X X X X X X X X X X X X

X X X X X X X X X X X X

_You..._

The very instant the last word passed through Chrno's thoughts, he could sense the image of Magdalene fade out of his peripheral vision, and the apparition of the young exorcist in front of him immediately traveled the ten feet, which had been separating them the entire time, and put her arms around him.

He tried to hug her back, but only one of his arms responded, and very slowly at that too.

Why had he willingly let himself be blinded all this time?

His horns tingled with the foreboding warning of what was to come...

Even when he had finally decided to make up his mind once and for all, he had been hopelessly biased. He had done nothing but list every bad quality he could come up with about his beloved contractor, in an attempt to convince himself that Magdalene was the one he _should_ be loving.

_beloved..._

The tingling slowly increased in intensity...

But despite every flaw he could find with the hotheaded exorcist, who had become more important to him than his own redemption, he had found that none of them mattered. Or perhaps he loved her even more because of them, because he knew about all her quirks and peculiarities.

Now his horns were aching, a feeling which closely resembled the forceful stress they were put under just before they broke in Aion's grasp. Chrno gritted his teeth...

And for every flaw she had, he could easily come up with an admirable trait which outweighed the fault by far.

The burning pain immediately shot through his temples from the horns. Chrno's tortured soul was wracked with the throes of oblivion, and almost in immediate response to it, the vision of the exorcist tightened her embrace. Somehow it eased the scorching sensations within him ever so slightly, and he willed his thoughts to return to her.

Her courage and determination which could put most veterans of war to shame, her compassion which easily could surpass that of any saint, her unabashed honesty that could shake the foundation of any established order, the fact that she had accepted him so fully without any hint of the scorn he could feel from practically the whole of existence, knowing fully what he was and what he was doing to her...

And he could continue the list, if need be.

It was simply physically and emotionally impossible for him not to love her.

He only had one regret now...

_She will... never know..._

His horns now felt like two searingly hot torches shooting out of his temples. The surges of hellfire eating their way through him would long since have made him pass out, if this was his physical body. His mind pictured how the inside of his horns were ravaged with deep deafening tremors, as the outer barrier desperately tried to hold. He could feel it was in vain. There was nothing in him which could fight back anymore. Soon they would crack open, and then...

_Is this... it...?_

He could sense that he was nearing his own unmaking, he didn't know how far ahead it was but it was definitely approaching rapidly.

_No hope... for me..._

He forced his arm to grip the image of his contractor tighter. Even though it was an artificial feeling of embracing a figment of his own mind, it still resembled her.

_But... I will... love you..._

And if the illusion of holding Rosette was all that was left for him in this world, then that was exactly what he would do.

_Until... I... cease... to..._

And that was when he felt it...

It was so immensely subtle.

Just at the very edge of feeling.

Slight, tender, soft brushes of warm, wet nibbles and caresses grazed the outside skin of his face and neck, as gentle, loving touches traced the outline of his ear. It stood in complete contrast to the burning agony which consumed him from the inside of his horns, and the rest of his soul. It was as if he was mercilessly immersed neck deep in molten rock, while a soft drizzle from above steadfastly tried to douse the incinerating pain of his undoing.

Rosette was...

kissing him...?

Nothing made sense anymore, but through the blazing torment he could definitely feel that it was her. It was no trick, and he willed himself to delve into the faint solacing sensation of his contractor.

Suddenly the apparition he was holding disappeared and...

"_Chrno..."_

What was that?

Could it really be...?

It was so weak... so distant... so faint through the fiery blackness...

But it was also crystal clear. A gleaming, blessed scythe slashing through a dark veil of obscurity...

He was sure of it.

Water filled his eye.

But not because of the flaming torture.

Not because he was sad or hurt or because of any regret.

But because...

for the first time...

the first time in this so called dream...

he was not alone.

She was here.

She was actually here and...

She was speaking to him... through the endless burning void... she was... speaking to him.

"_Do you...?"_

"_Will you...?"_

The sound of the questions were hopelessly lost in the pain, but he didn't need to hear them. He could feel them. With every last bit of astral still contained within his soul, he could sense their intent and their meaning, and his response, the very last thing he would do in his existence, was immediate.

**Yes**

**Rosette**

**Now**

**And**

**Forever**

In that instant blackness turned bright blue, and a violently soothing sensation rushed into every part of the sinner. He had been cast into a roaring river of relief, and was now being helplessly swept away by an overpowering current of fervent compassion.

_DA – A – A – A – AMN!_

It was her!

He could feel her... her astral... inside of him. He knew her astral, because of the contract, he would without a doubt be able to discern it within seconds out of a trillion different types, but this... was beyond measure, beyond compare, beyond anything... and everything. This was not raw consumable sustenance, this was... her... her entire soul, and he could sense its purpose, its need, his every spiritual nerve was soaked through with her desperate desire to help and heal him. The sheer intimacy of the connection was truly indescribable. He could feel her, as she literally coursed through every edge, every crevice and every corner of his soul, on a very personal seek-and-destroy mission, hunting down every last bit of the wasting nothingness with a vengeance. He could envision the golden haired exorcist, with a gun in each hand, running recklessly into a group of demons, dodging claws and fangs with natural talent and exceptional skill, while repeatedly ventilating one monstrosity after the other with massive amounts of sacreds and gospels, and the large wickedly looking beasts were felled with blinding speed as the vengeful tsunami made each one of them supremely sorry for having ever been brought into this world._ Shit... Rosette... You use... the same approach... for everything... don't you...?_ It was strangely reassuring, he knew her, and he knew how she would deal with everything that was thrown at her. _Sure hope... you won't break... anything..._ The last thought was added more in amusement than actual concern, in reality he wasn't the least bit worried that she would. He had no idea how she had come to be here, or what she was actually doing to him, except that it was somehow protecting him, rescuing him from what he had believed to be inevitable.

Right now, Chrno felt truly safe, and he simply closed his eyes, letting himself become lost in the tranquility of a furiously uncontrolled thunderstorm. A thunderstorm, by the name of Rosette, which raged through him, mending and restoring his shredded soul.

x x x x x x x x x x x x

Dark...

Everything is so dark in here...

The door opens and a bright light shines down on me, a blonde girl and blonde boy enters...

"Who're you...?"

I didn't even catch which one of them spoke.

"I'm Chrno. I'm what you humans fear. I'm a demon." My answer should send them running away, I want to be left alone.

"AWESOME!! Are you really a demon?" The young boy has an exited expression in his eyes... strange.

"Are you hungry?" She hands me... cookies?

"I'm Joshua. Are you sure you're really a demon?"

"We're gonna be explorers."

"We're gonna travel around the world, to places where nobody has been before."

"Africa!"

"The Amazon!"

"The South Pole!"

"Can we go to the Astral Line?"

Wait... this is going too fast... what's going on...?

The girl grabs my arm. "Come we need to go!"

"Wait..." I try to get her to slow down but she pulls me through the bright light of the door.

Blinding...

We're running through the forest now, her pace is hectic, and I can barely keep up. Why...? I'm a demon, I should be much faster than this, why can't I keep up with a human girl? "Rosette, why are we running?"

Trees keep passing each side of us as we run even faster, this forest is endless...

She turns her head, her eyes are full of tears. "Chrno! We need to hurry! We've gotta find Joshua!"

Joshua... is missing? "Where is he?" I ask.

"I don't know..." She stops, and hides her face in her hands, sobbing hopelessly. I hold her, try to comfort her, and she looks up at me again. "Which way should we go?"

I really don't know, we're standing in the middle of a crossroad with four paths. I have to chose one I suppose.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEK!"

"What is it Rosette?" I yell trying to mask my surprise at her outburst. She needs me to be strong and dependable.

"Chrno there's a spider, I hate spiders."

Hah... is that all...? Girls...

I turn towards the spider, it is extremely large, larger than both of my hands combined, possibly larger than my head too, it hangs in a long dark scarlet thread which dissappears up through the crown of a tree, and it has a human face.

It speaks...

"_Come with us Rosette Christopher, we will take you to Joshua..."_

She seems to believe them, and there are a lot of them in front of us now. They're chanting.

"_Joshua needs you, come with us..."_

She starts to approach them. This is gonna be over my dead body! I grab her and take off through the woods, she clings to me and I can feel that she's trembling. She's SCARED? You bastards are gonna PAY for doing this to her! More of the spiders drop down around us through the dense treetops, I simply keep running, they're not gonna take her away. She's MINE!

"Yes I am..."

Was that her whispering? No time to think about it. I crash out of the woods. Behind me I can see the large female face hovering over the treetops. Her black-red hair is long and straight, with each single string of hair ending in a spider with a human face. Yeah... I know you... puppeteer. You're dead...

The ground disappears underneath me. Mental note: Always look ahead when you're running.

I'm rolling down a steep incline. Must have run off the edge of a cliff. I'm still holding Rosette, and I wrap around her with my arms, legs and wings, forming into a protective shell so she won't get hurt. Why don't I fly...?

SPLASH!

The pond of water we've landed in is presumably cold but it doesn't feel unpleasant. Or rather... the pond I'VE landed in. She's on dry land, pointing her index finger at me and laughing.

"Very funny Rosette, why'd you have to push me in the water? Now I'm all soaked!"

"Ahh c'mon don't be such a flat tire, besides the wet hair makes you look spiffy." The girl smiles with a disarming cuteness.

Alright, flattery is a weak point for me I guess, so I let it rest and go to sit next to her on the blanket we've brought with us. I'm still soaked though.

"Here let me get that for you, I'm gonna hang it here to dry," Before I can say anything she's already taken my red jacket and hung it over a low branch. My shirt is off too, exposing my upper body to the sun and the air.

"So, what about Joshua?" I ask, wasn't he missing... or gone... or something...

"Oh, he just went into the woods a minute ago, said he wanted to do some exploring on his own." She comes back to sit next to me.

"And you let him? Aren't you worried about his condition?" I have to ask, this is so unlike her.

"Well, he has been feeling pretty good lately, so I figured it was jake." Her voice betray a small uneasiness. Is this because she's feeling guilty for not looking out for him now? No, doesn't seem so. "And..." She blushes. "I kinda wanted to spend my time with you right now." Oh...

She looks at me still blushing slightly "Isn't this a nice spot Chrno? I found it yesterday, and thought it would be great for a picnic."

We're in a clearing of the woods, which is situated next to a steep hill. A small stream of water runs down the face of the hill, and splashes into the pond I just got out of. The sound of slowly falling water mixes with the singing of birds and the buzzing of insects. It's very picturesque.

"You're right," I say. "This is nice." I feel a bit tired so I lay down on the blanket, and close my eyes. "Very nice."

"You should get a little sleep," she answers, and I can hear her smiling. "I'll wake you up when I'm done preparing lunch, okay?"

"Yeah, that's fine," I mutter sleepily. Sleep... that will be nice too... the sound of running water is so... relaxing...

Suddenly I'm surprised by something else, a soft feeling of lips pushing gently against mine. I open my eyes...

She's... kissing me...?

Her little body is bend over mine, her eyes are closed, and her face is deeply flushed. Her mouth is pressed towards mine, in a shy, almost chaste manner. She's holding her breath too. I feel a tiny tug on my upper lip, which she has collected a bit of in between hers. She doesn't seem inclined to end the kiss anytime soon, so I decide to close my eyes again and pretend I'm still sleeping. She'll be really embarrassed if she finds out that I know about this, and I really don't want to be the cause of that.

Besides, if I made my consciousness known, she would stop immediately, and, even though I know that I shouldn't, I actually... kinda... like... this...

It's almost like... a nice... dream...

x x x x x x x x x x x x

x x x x x x x x x x x x

Chrno awoke...

He was lying in the large bed in Satella's 'little' summer residence. The room was dark, only lit up by the faint moonlight shining through the balcony door.

And he felt... good...

He felt really good, he wasn't sweating, he wasn't cold, he wasn't tired, his body didn't ache all over, he felt completely... normal again... and it was possibly the best he'd ever felt in his entire life...

The fever, the exhaustion, the pain... was all gone, well save for that sore left arm of his. He let his gaze wander down to inspect the limb, and discovered his contractor half sitting half lying beside the bed. Her head rested on her left arm which in turn lay on the bed, her right hand was firmly locked around his arm, revealing the mundane cause of the slight discomfort. She was sleeping uneasily.

Chrno sat up, and, with a small smile, gently pried her hand off his arm. He didn't want to wake her up, she seemed exhausted somehow. When he moved her arm, it brought a reaction from her.

"Chrno..."

Her voice was coarse and it was tinged with an almost childish fear.

"Shhh..." He leaned closer, and gently brushed the golden tresses, letting her know he was there. "It's alright, I'm fine," he wispered._ Because of you... I'm fine. _She seemed to relax in her sleep.

She was tired, maybe he should carry her into the bed, but that would probably wake her up. _And then she'll whack me over the head..._ He grinned inwardly. At least he could put the quilt of the bed over her so she wouldn't be cold without risk of dragging her out of her sleep. He would let her sleep a little longer.

He began to notice just how oppressive the atmosphere in the room was, there was an evident feel of stuffiness, and it had probably been a while since actual fresh air had been let into the room. He got out of bed, and went to open the balcony door, it was only slightly ajar when he felt the coldness of the night air. Instinctively he closed the door again. His pulse had quickened, and he could feel small trickles of sweat emerge on his forehead.

_Dammit... get a grip... that fever wasn't... ordinary._

Still there was no point in challenging fate right away, so he might as well get dressed first. He went to get his trousers and jacket hanging from the edge of the bed. If he was human, he would probably be in dire need of a bath right now, due to all the dried up feverish sweat which would be covering his body.

Self-cleaning skin. One of the perks of being a demon. Of course it couldn't clean up everything, like if he should take a dive into a pool of mud, but for the most parts it worked wonders. He still bathed, but it was, like eating, mostly because he enjoyed it and not out of necessity, and of course...

He glanced over his shoulder at the sleeping nun.

Because she liked it better that way.

He once again opened the balcony door stepping out into the cool night air. The breeze of chill felt invigorating on the skin, and the sinner took in a deep breath of nighttime San Franciscan countryside, letting it out again slowly.

_Man... If I have any say in this, I will NEVER get a fever again..._

He noticed a tiny rustling sound behind him, along with a feel of surging astral.

His contractor was now waking up.

Rosette opened her eyes slowly...

Had she fallen asleep? She hadn't even noticed. And what was the quilt doing on top of her? She hadn't put it there. The last thing she recalled doing was bending in over Chrno, kissing, urging, pleading...

"Rosette..."

The familiar voice woke her up further, it came from outside. The teenage exorcist shifted her gaze towards the direction and was met with the crimson eyes of her partner, his long purple hair was silently flowing in the cool zephyr of a moonlit night, he was fully dressed and smiling at her...

"Sorry for all the trouble."

_You're up...?_

The quilt fell off. Her eyes widened. An unequivocal and spontaneous smile lit up her face.

_You're alright...!_

It had worked! The kiss, the whole thing... it... had... WORKED!

_And..._

Her smile changed becoming filled with playful mischievousness. "Chrno..." Her voice displayed the threat of imminent Rosettish doom.

_You're gonna pay for making me go through all that..._

"You damn idiot!" She exclaimed and leaped over the bed towards the surprised looking demon. Within a second she had closed the distance between them and brought her hand up for a solid left hook, which collided with the still startled demon's cheek sending him towards the floor of the balcony with flailing limbs. Without giving him any time to recover, she pulled him into a headlock. "How dare you put us through all this? Geez!" The sentence would have been scolding in nature, if not for the fact that Rosette couldn't hide her happiness. "It was SOO troublesome!" She began driving her left hand into the top of his head. "I thought you were gonna die!" _Dear God, I really did..._ Tiny tears of pure joy formed at the edges of her eyes, the feel of him being healthy again, was something she simply could not get enough of. She had even exchanged her left hand with her elbow in the grinding of his mistreated scalp. The full realization of what this all meant widened her smile further, and she felt like laughing, crying, yelling, singing and dancing at the same time.

"Take this!"

_You love me..._

"And this!"

_You really love me..._

The ruckus had woken up Satella and Azmaria, and from another balcony those very two were inconspicuously spying on the ecstatic nun and her apparently abused demon partner. Satella didn't know what she was supposed to believe about the bizarre couple, but Azmaria had spent enough time around them to notice that Rosette wasn't being as rough as a first glance could indicate. She recognized it for what it actually was: A sincere, albeit curious, Rosette trademark display of affection.

Chrno was sitting down still fairly bewildered, with his back against the wall of the mansion. Rosette had let go of his head and was standing triumphantly in front of him. Her breathing was labored, her hands were clenching and loosening expectantly, her expression was wildly radiant, and her eyes would outshine the sun had it been day. He smiled. His contractor was literally bubbling over with vibrant happiness, and clearly she had no clue whatsoever of how to put all that excess energy to any coherent use.

"So..." she said barely being able to control her own voice. "you yield?"

_Ah, we're playing this now,_ he thought with a mental snicker, and a small breath of air escaped his lips.

"I yield..." came the resigned response.

He saw Rosette elatedly unfold her fists, and drop her battle ready guard. Her expression, while still beautifully enraptured, turned more calm and less competitive, and she seemed about to close the distance in between them. _Alright... It's official now... I really DO have a death wish..._

"NOT!"

His exclamation was met with a loud 'Umphh', as the sinner crashed into the midsection of the completely unprepared sister. He had wrapped his arms around her waist, and the momentum of his attack had tripped her to the ground where she now lay sprawled before him.

"Why you LITTLE...!" Came her startled response. "Oh... you're SOO gonna pay now, I'm gonna make you sorry for... NOO... STOP... HA HA... STOP IT... YOU'REAAAH... STOOOP!"

Yup, Rosette was very ticklish.

From the other balcony, Azmaria watched wide-eyed as the tickling evolved into a full-fledged wrestling contest, with demon and nun, rolling around the floor struggling for supremacy.

"We should go back inside." Came the voice of the jewel witch from behind her. "We really shouldn't stand out here and spy on them, they deserve to have this moment to themselves."

Azmaria knew she was right, it wasn't very nice to be peeping into their privacy like this. She just loved seeing them both so happy, that she couldn't help but look. As they went back inside an amused smile crossed her lips. Rosette was 4 years older than her, and Chrno... well she didn't know if he even counted his age in years, or if he even counted at all. But right now, despite how old they actually were, they were both acting like children half her age. It made her giggle in delight.

Back outside the physical contest had apparently come to a standstill with Chrno sitting on the floor up against the side of the mansion again, and Rosette sitting astride his legs, having grabbed a hold of his wrists and pinning his arms against the wall above his head. They were both breathing heavier, although Rosette showed the most signs of exertion. He would be able to pick up the fight again, should he want to.

"So..." she said again "Now... do you yield?"

He didn't make a move to go at her again. Instead a little smirk crossed his face, making him look amazingly cute and inviting.

She could literally eat him raw.

"Depends..." he said.

_Magdalene..._ her thoughts were a bit wicked and she knew them to be wrong, but she honestly couldn't care less.

"What... I am supposed to yield to..." his smirk widened a bit.

_He's mine now..._

"This..." her response was slightly breathless as she moved her head closer to his.

_So BACK! OFF!_

In that instant demon and nun met each others lips in a heated and very needy kiss. Arms were instantly wrapped around each other's waist, back and head, legs intertwined, fingers gripped frantically, and the two almost crashed down onto the cold stone floor.

But nothing felt cold to them at this moment.

The breath had nearly been pushed out of Rosette's lungs when her partner had encircled her in his arms. The arms, which now slid under her blouse, in order to get closer to caressing the actual skin underneath her nightgown. The arms, which she knew for a fact possessed the strength of several adult humans, and that was just in his sealed form.

_So strong..._

The kiss deepened to a slower, increasingly passionate pace, and she slid out her tongue further, to taste the inside of his mouth, letting it engage in a whole different and far more luscious wrestling match. Through the restrictive layers of clothing separating them, she felt the beating of his heart so forcefully, that it seemed it was almost trying to speak to her.

_And so fragile..._

Her hand gripped the hair at the back of his head more tightly. Despite all his strength, he was still so vulnerable. As his kiss sent flashes of heat through her, and his dexterous hands traveling over her back, sides, waist and thighs made her breathe out muffled moans of pleasure, she felt the need to protect him arise within her again. He had been protecting her for so long, and she had relied on his strength and warmth when everything had seemed the most hopeless. But she wanted to be more to him than a damsel in need of rescue, if he was her savior, her champion, then she would be his as well. She would defend him. With her body, her heart, and her soul, she would shield him from anyone who sought to do him harm.

_Even from yourself..._

Chrno could sense the astral embrace his contractor sought to envelop him in, and he almost felt ashamed of himself, ashamed that he had been lying to her for so long, lying to himself, lying even to Magdalene. He had been holding back, though not in body. The alluring shape of Rosette's bodily curves and the softness of her skin he was now feeling through his fingers... the sweetness of her scent he was now breathing... the bewitchment he was put under by the sounds she was now making, sounds urging and pleading for more... the seductiveness of her touch, she was now using to send wave upon wave of rushing bliss through his entire system... all of it had made it impossible for him to restrain his body, it needed her so badly that he couldn't even comprehend how he had ever functioned without her.

But he had been holding back in spirit. The subtleties, which were behind everything. The intent. The feelings. The compassion in her caresses, which seemed to want nothing more than make him feel better... the tenderness in her kiss, telling him that she wasn't just acting out of selfish lust... the aura of astral, he now literally felt brushing ever so slightly against his soul, seemingly ready to do whatever it takes to defend him...

This was where he had been holding back, this was where he had denied her entrance. But... No more. Never again. She had saved him, on so many levels, and he was not going to let any amount of guilt prevent him from allowing her to, or to respond in kind. He would be there for her, in every way possible and impossible, without reservation or hesitation. He would be there for her as long as she needed him.

He wholeheartedly hoped she would need him for a very long time...

Slowly, the kiss was broken, and two pairs of eyes were reopened to stare directly into each other, before beginning to wander over the features of a face which was only inches away.

Rosette managed to make a mental note that she should seek out the gypsy and thank her, but she got the peculiar feeling that the fortune teller would not be there tomorrow, nor would she meet her again, unless the old woman wanted it to happen. Well... at least she would remember to give thanks in prayer, that she had met the crazy old bag...

As her eyes skimmed over his features, starting at the long purple hair, past the pointed elfin ears, to his soft and inviting mouth, which was also dangerously forbidding, being the home of wickedly sharp canines, over his extremely cute nose, and ending at the everburning haven that was his eyes, she almost couldn't believe it. How close she had come to actually losing him, how wrong everything had been, and how right everything was now.

"Rosette..." the demon broke the silence.

"Mmmm...?"

"Thank you."

The exorcist lowered her gaze as a deep blush rose to her cheeks. It was funny, those two little words made her feel so warm inside, much warmer than she would have thought such a simple sentence could. Really, there was nothing he should thank her for, she had just done... well in fact she really didn't know what she had done, or how she had done it, except it had worked. She raised her gaze to meet his once again, and her eyes widened a bit while her blush deepened even further if that was at all possible. His expression... his words... he wasn't... just thanking her for that... he was thanking her... for everything! She could feel it emanating like a low hum from deep within the core of him. He was actually... truly... grateful... for _her_. The pristine sensation of being so wanted... so needed... was purely overwhelming. She closed her eyes, and pulled him closer, basking tremblingly in the intense heat of his feelings, letting his face encounter her neck, while burying her own in his hair. _Anytime... Chrno..._

_Anytime..._

The nun felt her partners hands begin to move playfully across her back and waist underneath her blouse again, with the intent to remove the restraining piece of cloth. His lips and tongue renewed their assault on the bare skin of her neck and jaw, sending small missiles of fiery pleasure through her. His fingers were slowly playing their way up along each side of her, in an electrifying series of caresses which traveled towards her chest. When his hands reached and began to slowly fondle their highly sensitive destination,a small gasp escaped her lips... and then they formed a smile. He obviously couldn't contain himself... and neither could she. She deftly undid a few buttons of his shirt, providing an opening into where his bare torso was hid, which her left hand slid through. Her right hand gripped and pulled his hair forcing his head to tilt backwards. Not with a yank, but not entirely gentle either. Quickly, she again let her gaze skim over his face before covering his mouth with her own. Being allowed instant entrance, she ravenously began to drink of the nectar from within, while feeling him respond, with an animalistic hunger of his own, a hunger for what she had to offer him. She got the magically uncanny impression that she was actually breathing life into him this way. Not through some cold metal mechanical device, but on a whole different level.

No... she was definitely not a part of his pain.

She was his cure.

X X X X X X X X X X X X

X X X X X X X X X X X X

The fire was almost out, and the old fortune teller had gone over to tend to it.

Rosette knew that no more needed to be said, there was no more she needed to know, and she didn't think she could handle any more anyway. The empty cup in front of her was signaling that she should be going, but she couldn't get her legs to respond.

"Ze fire eez almost out," the old woman said apparently to no one in particular. "I veel have to fuel and tend eet." Walking towards the table again she picked up the drawing and her pointing stick which she broke in half. "Such a fire should not go out." She turned towards the young sister. "Tonight veel be a cold night vizout eet to keep von varm."

_Alright, ALRIGHT... I get it..._ the sister gathered her strength, which seemed to have become nothing more than a drop of what used to be an ocean, and stood up with her legs buckling slightly underneath her. She had to force herself to walk towards the exit of the tent.

Just as she was about to say goodbye to the old woman, the gypsy started speaking again.

"Before you go, zere eez von last advice I veel give you."

Rosette looked at the small hunched woman tossing the stick and paper into the little fire. She was easily a full head taller than the gypsy, and Rosette wasn't exactly among the tallest people in this world to put things mildly.

"I said zat ze kiss vas like ze needle containing an antidote."

"You did, I know."

"Vell, vee all know zat a blunt needle veel not be able to pierce ze skin." The woman gave a smile.

"Uhhh..." the nun blushed a bit. "What do you mean by that...?"

"Oh... stop acting all innocent vit me, childe," the gypsy retorted. "You know perfectly vell vhat I mean."

Ok, she did, she just needed to make sure. Anyway, she hadn't been planning on giving him a quick buss on the cheek anyway. She couldn't help but smile a bit. Looking up again, she saw the gypsy rummaging through some trash mumbling something about 'firevood', and a thought crossed her mind.

"Uhmm..."

The old woman turned around again. "Yes?"

Rosette felt quite dumb for wanting to ask this, but she just couldn't get the thought out of her head now. "This is probably gonna sound weird, but..." _Damn this is such a stupid question._

The gypsy approached her looking very expectant of this question, that the sister was about to ask her.

_Alright, here goes..._ "I was wondering, just exactly _who_ are you? I mean it's just that you know all these things that no one else does, and you tell about them so casually, and it's not that I don't believe you 'cause I do, but it's just... it just seems very strange to me that you know all this... that's all..."

The old woman smiled her reassuring smile once more. "Vell, I had believed eet vas obvious." She gave the nun an intense stare underlining her words.

"I am simply an old von who does not mind helping a young childe from time to time."

Her tone shifted to a more casual one like she was reading a resume. "And zen I can tell a bit about ze future, I know a zing or two about demons, and I make a very nice cup of tea, don't you zink?" At the last sentence she poked the sister in her side and smiled.

Rosette shook her head lightly in resignation, she probably wouldn't get any more out of her on that subject. "You're pretty strange," she said. "Strange... but nice..."

The gypsy smiled even more at this comment, an inviting and approving smile. "I like you too, childe." She reached up and put a hand on the sisters shoulder, and spoke with an encouragingly urgent tone in her voice.

"Now, go to your demon. He needs you."

"Yeah..." With that Rosette spun around on her heels and leaped out the tent with a renewed sense of purpose, running back towards where the car was. If she could just remember where they were parked...

The gypsy glanced a short while after the girl-in-a-bag who quickly disappeared from her view, before going back to look for the firewood. Before long she found several branches which were adequate for the task, broke them into smaller pieces, and used them to make the small fire spring back to life. As the flames increased in size, and no longer were in danger of extinguishing, she let out a small sigh.

"I veel vatch over you, my young childe. And over ze Von Million Killer zat you love."

**THE END**

* * *

Awww... isn't Rosette just the happy little nun right now, not only did she manage to save Chrno, but she finds out that he loves her as well, major fluff all around if I'm not mistaken. Unfortunately we know that Dufou, who really needs to learn about the word timing, is on his way to break up the happy party, and get the actual storyline of CC back in action.

Anyway, the idea which wasn't my own, is from Chrno's dream sequence (that is where he actually IS dreaming) where Rosette as a twelve year old kisses him while thinking he's asleep. It doesn't play an enormous part here, but it inspired me to write the scene and thus I wanted to have it in there. Since it was an idea I took directly from another story I felt I should give credit.

Basically my motivation for this whole fic was to increase the significance of the disease curing kiss beyond 'you have to kiss him... on the MOUTH!', and as always comments, critique, and general opinions about the story and how well it succeeded in its intent are as always most welcome. But before we leave off, how about a few words from the cast itself and their views on the whole deal:

Chrno: Phew.

Rosette: That was pretty rough.

Chrno: Yeah, though I think I got the rougher deal.

Rosette: Oh really? How hard could it have been? You were just lying down the whole time anyway.

Chrno: WHAT? You mean you didn't even pay attention? I was in a pretty hefty amount of pain back there.

Rosette: Can't really say I did, so what was so hard on you?

Chrno: Well, basically you can take whatever, the Sahara desert or the rain forest, or something similar has felt for a fair amount of years and then condense it into something lasting a couple of minutes. I was practically being WIPED OUT! I can't believe you didn't even NOTICE!

Rosette: Alright, alright... geez... you win... But you know... just because you experienced some sort of major agricultural agony, doesn't mean that I didn't have a tough time either. I was crying more of my heart out than I'd ever done before in my life believing myself to be more wicked, cruel and depraved than frickin' Pandemonium herself!

Chrno: (smirking) Well...

Rosette: Oh don't you even as much as THINK of finishing that sentence!

Chrno (making the 'wasn't me' expression) What? I was just about to agree with you, that you had it rough too.

Rosette: Yeah right. Besides this whole thing was all your fault anyway.

Chrno: (eyes widening to saucer-size) WHAT? How can you possibly make this into being MY fault now?

Rosette: Well, if you would have just gotten your act together sooner, and started loving me when you were supposed to, then NONE of this would have ever happened. But you just HAD to make it into a big drama didn't you?

Chrno: I can't believe this... You think I WANTED it? And speaking of loving you, let me tell you, that you're not making it very easy right now.

Rosette: Oh yeah? Well, for your information, I can easily make it a lot harder.

Chrno: Hah, that'd be a feat even for you...

Satella: Will you two SHUT UP FOR ONE BLOODY SECOND!

Rosette: Oh joy, look who's here.

Satella: No seriously, it's bad enough that I'm supposed to fight with Rosette through this entire story, but the fact that you just keep squabbling after it's over is giving me a GOD DAMN HEADACHE!

Rosette: Gosh, we're terribly sorry your majesty, God forbid that you should feel the slightest bit of discomfort at all.

Satella: Hey! I'm rich! I'm used to buying myself out of discomfort, but you two... I just can't deal with you two.

Chrno: I'm having a fair bit of trouble here myself.

Rosette: (angry) Oh, shut up Chrno.

Satella: See... there you go again, you're acting like you've been married for far longer than what any doctor would deem healthy for either of you.

Chrno: Heh... it sure feels that way... now that you're saying it...

Rosette: (angrier) Didn't I just say SHUT UP!

Chrno: (shrugging) I heard you... I just... didn't.

Rosette: And what's this deal about being married anyway. Marriage isn't supposed to be bad, why the hell do you think people do it anyway?

Chrno: (smirking again) Sure... Who wouldn't want to be married to a stubborn, violent, addle-brained...

Rosette: (whipping out her guns) THAT'S IT you little jerk!

Chrno: Is that the time already...? I think I need to go now. (begins to run)

Rosette: KEEP STILL! So I can hit you!

Rosette's left gun: BLAM BLAM

Rosette's right gun: BANG BANG

Chrno: YOU WISH!

Satella: (meekly) My head...

Oh my, oh my... definitely not as pink and fluffy as one might have thought... Hmm, maybe the old saying has to be modified to 'quarrelingly ever after'.

On another note, this was originally supposed to be a one-time thing for me, but as fate would have it, I ended up getting more ideas for stories as I was writing this one, so I guess you haven't seen the last of me just yet.

And credit goes out to my brother, who I've forced into being my proofreader, even though he's never seen the CC series, but since it was him who first got me into watching anime series in general, I feel it's a well deserved punishment for giving me another addiction in my life.

Lastly... thank you for reading my story, and since it's the last chapter, it's also the last chance to drop a review, so please do so and let me know what you think about how it panned out (all the cool kids are doing it you know).


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